Alumni Spotlight: Charlotte Parker '04

Alumni Spotlight: Charlotte Parker ’04

WHEN CHARLOTTE PARKER ’04 spent two years withTeach for America in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a spark waslit. Not for teaching, however—for social justice.

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.

“She told me she couldn’t get a loan from anywhere,” Parker recalled. “Digging further, I found out she didn’t even have a bank account.” Parker later learned that 44 percent of people in the Rio Grande Valley did not have access to bank accounts.

“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 asked herself how she could help.

“I’ve been so lucky,” she said. “I recognized, based on my educational background and the fact that both of my parents had gone to college, that I just had so much privilege. How was I going to use that in the best way to benefit my students and their families?”

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 an opportunity to make change on that systemic level than I did in the classroom,” she said.

It was from there that Parker discovered an organization called Acumen, a global impact investing nonprofit that invests in companies serving low-income customers.

Impact investing refers to investments made with the intention n to make a social or environmental impact, and Acumen’s investments focus on education, healthcare, job training, financial ncial services, and energy access.

Acumen, whose company mission is “Changing the way the world tackles poverty, and building a world based on dignity,” not only provides funding, but also supports startups in other ways, with access to executive coaching, technical assistance, and software to run their business.

One such business is Everytable, a healthy, fast-food chain in Los 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.

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.

“If impact investing is done right, companies can actually improve people’s lives,” she said.

Acumen differs from other impact investors in a few ways, the biggest being the length of their relationship with the companies they invest in. Acumen invests in startups early, at a risky time, with no guarantee that the investment will be returned. The partnership also typically lasts seven to 10 years, where two years is more typical for a traditional venture capital investor. “I think the work we’re doing is important because we’re thinking about how to change systems,” Parker said. “Acumen is about making business work for everyone.”

Parker’s work ethic, confidence, and dedication to her community, she says, was built at Peck where she attended from third through eighth grade. “I think the fact that (Peck) was a small school was really important for me,” she said. “It was nice to feel like I was a part of a community. I think I’ve sought out places where I can be a part of a community and where I can help make that community better.”

She fondly remembers some of her Peck teachers, including Mrs. Julie Skinner and Mr. Jim Cross. “Mrs. Skinner taught us discipline, but in a way that implied trust and respect in us as nine-year-olds,” Parker said.

The daughter of a journalist, Parker believed her strength lay with words, not numbers. She recalls Cross being a champion for her in the subject of mathematics despite it being her perceived weaker subject. “He could tell I felt this lack of confidence. He just looked at me and said, ‘You can do math.’ Peck teachers saw me as a person with capability, and invested in me.”

Parker said that as an alumna, she is incredibly supportive of Peck’s efforts to explore inclusion, equity, and justice, and to help foster diverse experiences for Peck students.

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to meet people who are different than me and to learn from them,” Parker said. “I think the world will be a better place when every child gets to do that. Difference is so interesting; you can learn from difference. The earlier that every Peck student can have the chance to experience something different than 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.”