4th Annual Convening
January 16, 2026
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Our fourth annual invitation-only event includes a highly interactive design structured to maximize both learning and engagement among attendees. Attendees for the event include industry thought leaders, Wharton faculty and staff, and distinguished students. The program features presentations by academics and practitioners feeding into Q&A sessions on pressing topics including Warning Signs from the Insurance Industry, Climate and AI, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, and Investing in the Social Determinants of Health.
Sessions, Speakers, and Topics
Friday, January 16
8:00 AM
Registration and Breakfast
Robertson Hall, 8th Floor, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
9:15 AM
Warning Signs from the Insurance Industry
Chair: Ben Keys (Wharton)
- Property Insurance and Disaster Risk: New Evidence from Mortgage Escrow Data, with Philip Mulder, NBER Working Paper No. 32579, originally posted June 2024, revised November 2025. Download insurance data here.
- Neglected No More: Mortgage Lending, House Prices, and Sea Level Rise, with Philip Mulder. NBER Working Paper No. 27930, October 2020. (NBER Digest, 2-page summary) Revision requested, Review of Financial Studies.
- Housing, Climate Risk, and Insurance, NBER Reporter, June 2025.
- “A Climate ‘Shock’ Is Eroding Some Home Values. New Data Shows How Much,” New York Times, November 19, 2025.
Pari Sastry (Wharton)
- The Economics of Net Zero Banking, with A. Morse Annual Review of Financial Economics Policy & Press: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance Blog Post, The Banker (FT),
- Who Bears Flood Risk? Evidence from Mortgage Markets in Florida, (Job Market Paper) Accepted at the Review of Financial Studies Policy & Press: 2023 Economic Report of the President (CEA), Realtor.com, 2024 CBO Climate Report
- When Insurers Exit: Climate Losses, Fragile Insurers, and Mortgage Markets, with I. Sen and A.M. Tenekedijieva Revise and Resubmit, Quarterly Journal of Economics Press Mentions: Inside Mortgage Finance, The Tampa Bay Times (1), The Insurance Journal (1), Newsweek, Bloomberg, Insurance Business Magazine, The Tampa Bay Times (2), S&P Global Market Intelligence, Politico Energy & Environment, Miami Herald, Law360, New York Times, Matt Levine – Bloomberg Money Matters Blog, New York Times (2), Washington Post, New York Times (3), The Guardian , New Yorker, Washington Post (2), The Wall Street Journal, The Insurance Journal (2), Bloomberg Law, Insurance Journal (4). Policy Mentions: Senate Budget Committee Hearing, Ishita Sen’s Senate Testimony, Congressional Letter to the NAIC, 2024 CBO Climate Report, 2024 FSOC Financial Stability Report, Congressional Letter to Fannie Mae (1), Treasury Federal Insurance Office 2025 Report on Climate and Insurance, Congressional Letter to Demotech, Congressional Letter to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (2)
- Business as Usual: Bank Net Zero Commitments, Lending and Engagement, with E. Verner and D. Marques-Ibanez Press Mentions: New York Times, CNN, BBC Radio, Financial Times, CEPR/VoxEU
- The Insurance Protection Gap, with T. Scharleman, I. Sen and A.M. Tenekedijieva [Winner of WFA Best Paper on Financial Institutions 2025]
- “The Growing Impact of Climate Change on Real Estate Insurance Coverage”, Remarks given at the Goodwin-Columbia Business School Real Estate Conference, March 10, 2025. [Video]
- “We have to stop subsidizing people who move to Climate Danger Zones”, New York Times, co-authored with Ishita Sen, January 2025
Cary Coglianese (UPENN)
Francis Bouchard (Marsh McLennan)
Susan Doering (AON)
Margaret Peloso (Chubb)
9:45 AM
Table Discussion
10:05 AM
Research Spotlights
Chair: Britta Glennon (Wharton)
- Does Offshoring Manufacturing Harm Innovation? Firm-level Evidence from Taiwan, with Lee Branstetter, Jong Rong Chen, and Nikolas Zolas. Management Science (forthcoming). Press Coverage: The Economist
- Skilled Immigrants, Firms, and the Global Geography of Innovation, Journal of Economic Perspectives (Winter 2024).
- Does Employing Skilled Immigrants Enhance Competitive Performance? Evidence from European Football Clubs, with Francisco Morales, Seth Carnahan, and Exequiel Hernandez. Management Science (2025). NBER Working Paper 29446. Press Coverage: Forbes, The Weeds (Vox’s podcast, starting minute ~36), Knowledge@Wharton, Aspen Institute’s 5 Best Ideas of the Day (Jan 10, 2022) SMS Best Conference Paper Prize Finalist, Strategy Science Best Paper Award
- How Do Restrictions on High-Skilled Immigration Affect Offshoring? Evidence from the H-1B Program, Management Science (2024). NBER Working Paper 27538. Summaries: NBER Digest September 2020 Edition, Cato Institute Press Coverage: The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times, The Economist, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Protocol, BBC, NPR MarketPlace, Marketwatch Finalist: INFORMS/Org Science Dissertation Proposal Competition
- The Effect of Immigration Policy on Founding Location Choice: Evidence from Canada’s Start-up Visa Program, with Saerom (Ronnie) Lee. NBER Working Paper No. 31634. Summaries: NBER Digest May 2024 Edition Press Coverage: Forbes
Heather Boushey (UPENN)
Yphtach Lelkes (UPENN)
- Check out the data of the Polarization Research Lab HERE.
- Explore the research of the Center for Information Networks and Democracy HERE.
Robert Farley (Factcheck.org)
10:25 AM
Table Discussion
10:40 AM
Break
10:55 AM
Climate and AI
Chair: Arthur van Benthem (Wharton)
Benjamin Lee (UPENN)
- A view of the sustainable computing landscape. Patterns, 2025
- “Implications of artificial intelligence related data center electricity use and emissions: Proceedings of a workskhop.” The National Academies Press, May 2025
- Can AI Be Energy Efficient?, Knowledge at Wharton, September 2025.
- A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It, Smithsonian Magazine, September 2025.
- Why the true water footprint of AI is so elusive, NPR, May 2025.
Ali Zaidi (UPENN)
- Joe Biden’s national climate advisor sees AI as a ‘massive opportunity’, The Verge, January 2025.
- Penn Climate hosts former White House national climate advisor to kick off lecture series, The Daily Pennsylvanian, September 2025
- Even Trump Can’t Stop America’s Green Transition, Says Biden’s Top Climate Advisor, Wired, January 2025.
Hui Wen Chan (Crusoe)
11:10 AM
Table Discussion
11:25 AM
Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
Chair: Jennifer Wilcox (Wharton)
- Learn more about the Clean Energy Conversions Laboratory.
- Read her blog on Who Carries the Risk as DOE clean energy funding recedes.
R. Jisung Park (Wharton)
David Edwards (Air Liquide)
Robert Brown (Resolution Investors)
Noah Deich (UPENN)
11:50 AM
Table Discussion
12:10 PM
Board Governance and Impact
Chair: Mary-Hunter McDonnell (Wharton)
David Risser (Ethics and Boards)
Bruce Freed (Center for Political Accountability)
Rosanna Ramos-Velita (Chair of the Board, Los Andes)
12:30 PM
Table Discussion
12:45 PM
Lunch
1:45 PM
Reinventing Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability with Mutuality and Impact
This panel will be live-streamed—if you or a member of your team or network are interested in attending virtually, please register HERE.
Chair: Bruno Roche (ONE Society)
Sarah Leser (Wharton)
Patrick Dupoux (BCG)
Frederic Barge (Reward Value)
Irina Nevzlin (One Society)
2:10 PM
Q&A
2:25 PM
Insights from Impact Data
Chair: Tyler Wry (Wharton)
John Streur (Boston Common Asset Management)
Chris Bruno (Wharton)
Yakov Bart (Northeastern University)
Mahdi Shahrabi (Wharton)
2:50 PM
Table Discussion
3:05 PM
Break
3:20 PM
Investing in Economic Opportunities and the Social Determinants of Health
Chair: Damon Phillips (Wharton)
Amina Petrizio (Resilience Education)
Rebecca Morrison (Brandywine Workshop and Archives)
Rajith Sebastian (Wharton)
Ajeenah Amir (UPENN)
Janet Fu (Wharton)
3:50 PM
Table Discussion
4:05 PM
Oxford-Style Debate: Divest or Engage?
Chair: Witold Henisz (Wharton)
Divest:
Erika Karp (Green Alpha Investments)
Mary Anne Hitt (Climate Imperative)
Engage:
Michelle Dunstan (Janus Henderson)
Steven Rothstein (CERES)
4:35 PM
Questions from the Audience
5:00 PM
Reception and Hors d’Oeuvres
Harker Hall, 8th Floor, Jon M. Huntsman Hall
Hors d’oeuvres and Beverages provided.
About Wharton Impact
The Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative at the Wharton School (Wharton Impact) conducts evidence-based research on the gap between corporate and investors’ societal impacts and their financial valuations. Informed by this research, we offer 30+ courses that MBA and undergraduate students can assemble into a major and concentration, over a dozen co-curricular experiences, four Executive certificate programs, as well as speaker series, workshops, and events, and an expanding array of industry and policy convenings. We advance Wharton’s best-in-class education of current and future leaders, equipping them with the tools, skills, and perspectives needed to navigate a more complex and interconnected world.