Recorded on 03/09/2021

Rebooting Our Cities: A Discussion on Resiliency & Generosity with Wes Moore

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Recorded March 9, 2021.

More than 34 million people in the U.S. live below the federal poverty level. One man is on a mission to change that.

Wes Moore, bestselling author of The Other Wes Moore, The Work, Discovering Wes Moore, and This Way Home, and CEO of Robin Hood Foundation – New York City’s largest anti-poverty organization joins us to discuss the topic of philanthropy. To date, the Robin Hood Foundation – which Wes Moore has led since 2017 – has raised over 3 billion dollars in funding and bestows $120 to $140 million annually to 250 of New York City’s top poverty-fighting non-profits. Although the grants are vitally important, Moore believes that money alone is not enough to eradicate poverty in a meaningful way. Moore believes that to restore our cities and lift families out of poverty we need a multifaceted approach that includes an innovative and authentic collaboration between the non-profit sector, the business world, and the government.

In this informative and engaging session, Baltimore-natives Eric Becker, Cresset Founder and Co-Chairman, and Doug Becker, Cresset advisory board member and Founder and Chairman of Cintana Education lead the conversation with Wes Moore to address the daunting task of rebuilding our cities – made more challenging due to the mountain of obstacles faced in the wake of COVID. Through the lens of Wes’ personal journey rising up from the brink of poverty and his experience as a leader in philanthropy, he shares his vision for the specific and immediate actions that business leaders, philanthropists, and policymakers can take to make our cities and communities more resilient.

About Wes Moore

Wes Moore is the Chief Executive Officer of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the nation. He is a bestselling author, a combat veteran, and a social entrepreneur. Wes’ first book, “The Other Wes Moore,” a perennial New York Times bestseller, captured the nation’s attention on the fine line between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves. That story has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie. He is also the author of the bestselling books “The Work,” “Discovering Wes Moore,” “This Way Home” and the recently released, “Five Days.” Wes grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx, where he was raised by a single mom. Despite childhood challenges, he graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He earned an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. Wes then served as a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He later served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Before becoming CEO at Robin Hood, Wes was the founder and CEO at BridgeEdU, an education platform based in Baltimore addressing the college completion and job placement crisis by reinventing freshman year for underserved students. BridgeEdU was acquired by Edquity, a Brooklyn-based student financial success and emergency aid firm, in June 2019. Wes has also worked in finance as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in London and with Citigroup in New York. Wes lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children.

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