Alumni Spotlight:
Charlotte Parker ’04
W H E N C H A R L O T T E P A R K E R ’ 0 4 spent two years with
It was from there that Parker
Teach for America in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a spark was
discovered an organization
lit. Not for teaching, however—for social justice.
called Acumen, a global
One holiday season, she received a handmade silk poncho from a student’s mother as a gift. Noting the exquisite quality, Parker asked the woman if she ever considered starting a business selling clothing.
impact investing nonprofit that invests in companies serving low-income customers. Impact investing refers
“She told me she couldn’t get a loan from anywhere,” Parker
to investments made
recalled. “Digging further, I found out she didn’t even have a
with the intention
bank account.” Parker later learned that 44 percent of people in
to make a social
the Rio Grande Valley did not have access to bank accounts.
or environmental
“They don’t have access to financial services that can allow them more opportunities down the line,” Parker said. Given her knowledge of the strong correlation between parental employment and students’ performance in school, Parker
impact, and Acumen’s investments focus on education, healthcare, job training, financial services, and
asked herself how she could help.
energy access.
“I’ve been so lucky,” she said. “I recognized, based on my
Acumen, whose company mission is “Changing the way the
educational background and the fact that both of my parents had
world tackles poverty, and building a world based on dignity,”
gone to college, that I just had so much privilege. How was I
not only provides funding, but also supports startups in other
going to use that in the best way to benefit my students and
ways, with access to executive coaching, technical assistance, and
their families?”
software to run their business. One such business is Everytable, a healthy, fast-food chain in Los
The earlier that every Peck student can have the c ance to e
erience omet ing different t an
what’s normal to them or comfortable to them, the sooner they’ll be empowered and excited about trying to make the world a better place.
Angeles. According to Everytable’s mission, the company aims to redefine the food landscape the same way McDonald’s did 50 years ago. But instead of burgers and fries, Everytable sells nutritious and fresh food at fast-food prices. “I could imagine my [Teach for America] students buying a meal at an Everytable location,” Parker said. At Acumen, Parker is a business development associate, actively working with current donors to connect their expertise and resources with entrepreneurs, as well as seeking out new donors.
Having gone to Peck, Deerfield Academy, and Yale University, and having a strong professional network with work experience in business, government, and media, Parker questioned if teaching was truly the answer. “I realized I actually had more of
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Parker says she was attracted to the idea of impact investing because she believes a lot of problems have been created in the world because business is set up to only benefit a small number of people.
an opportunity to make change on that systemic level than I did
“If impact investing is done right, companies can actually improve
in the classroom,” she said.
people’s lives,” she said.
F ALL 2019
