THE INSTRUCTOR

Christa Velasquez is a recognized leader in the philanthropic impact investing field having spent more than 25 years working at or advising foundations on developing or improving impact investing strategies and deploying millions of dollars in underinvested communities and populations across the U.S.

Currently, Christa is a consultant with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a global nonprofit consulting firm serving over 200 clients facilitating an average of $400 million in annual giving/investment in more than 30 countries. She advises philanthropic investors on the use of a range of assets to achieve their financial and social impact goals.

Most recently, Christa was the Director of Lumina Impact Ventures (LIV) at the Lumina Foundation, a private foundation with $1.4 billion in assets that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. In her role she was responsible for a $50 million venture capital fund that identifies and invests in scalable solutions that increase the share of the U.S. population with college degrees, certificates, certifications, and other quality credentials, especially among Black, Latino, and Native American populations. LIV primarily invests in U.S.-focused, early-stage companies developing innovative technologies and tech-enabled platforms that provide people with opportunities to learn after high school.  

Christa was also the Director of Social Investments at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a $3 billion foundation devoted to developing brighter futures for millions of children at risk of poor educational, economic, social and health outcomes, where she created and managed its $125 million social investment fund. At the Lumina Foundation, she was the Director of Lumina Impact Ventures, responsible for a $50 million venture capital fund that identifies and invests in scalable solutions that increase the share of the U.S. population with college degrees, certificates, certifications, and other quality credentials, especially among Black, Latino, and Native American populations.

After departing AECF, she held the position of senior fellow at the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University researching innovative social financing structures. She also served as an independent consultant, advising foundations and nonprofit organizations on a wide range of topics, including impact investing, nonprofit management, social enterprises organizational capacity and financial sustainability.

Christa has been a lecturer at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy since 2012, where she teaches courses on the business of nonprofits and the evolving social sector, nonprofit management and impact investing.

She has a B.A. in Latin American studies from the University of Chicago and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.