Investors for a Better America logo - A stylized purple bridge with three stars above it, reflecting in water below, with the word 'INVESTORS' and the tagline 'FOR A BETTER AMERICA' beneath.

September 3, 2026 — Manhattan

A nonpartisan gathering of investors strengthening America’s representative self-government, restoring social trust, and building a more prosperous future for all Americans.

Fordham Gabelli School of Business
Pope Auditorium, 140 W 62 St, NYC

We believe a free and fair
democracy is foundational to
a strong investment climate.

Investors for a Better America is a nonpartisan conference that aims to activate investors and family offices from across the political spectrum to strengthen the civic foundations of American prosperity.

We believe free enterprise and democracy depend on many of the same conditions, and are fundamental to job creation and personal wealth for all Americans: 

Conference
  1. A representative and accountable democracy
    Representative government that protects civil liberties, upholds the law fairly, avoids over-centralization, and safeguards against corruption.
  2. Social trust
    A healthy civil society at the local, state, and national levels, which draws strength from our differences rather than being divided by them.
  3. A responsive and effective government
    A functional and fiscally responsible government supported by an independent Federal Reserve and evidence-based policies and institutions.
  4. Recruiting the best talent globally
    A skilled workforce built through education, opportunity, merit, and welcoming talented people through legal immigration.
  5. Alliances
    Stable and trusted international partnerships, and open, rules-based trade that support American security, competitiveness, and prosperity.

“I believe we have a fiduciary obligation to keep America investor-friendly, which means we need a strong constitutional democracy.”

David Teten,
Partner, Orange Collective,
Cofounder, Investors for a Better America

“Every American deserves the opportunity to build a prosperous future. That requires both free enterprise and a free republic.”

Jacob Bornstein,
President, Mediators Foundation‍ ‍
Cofounder, Investors for a Better America

Admission

Admission is complimentary for qualifying investors and media.

We curate the room carefully to keep conversations candid and useful.

Investors, Family Offices, Foundations ($100m+)

Complimentary / By Invitation

Exclusively for full-time investing principals of family offices, foundations, endowments, and institutional investors:

  • With at least $100M AUM

Media

Complimentary / By Invitation

Admission is complimentary for reporters and editors focused on the future of investing and influencers with >10M followers. Media are not permitted to attend the investor-only breakout sessions.

Other Investors and
General Admission

$2,026 per ticket

Limited general admission seats are available for investors and others interested in the topic. Preference is given to early registrants. General admission tickets allow for full conference access.

Become a marketing partner and get a discount code for your network —
and free admission with registration of five or more paying guests. Contact us to learn more.

Speakers

Confirmed speakers include:

Additional keynotes and panelists are being announced on a rolling basis.

Family Offices


Peter Lupoff

Partner, Beatrice Advisors and Founder/Principal, Lupoff/Stevens Family Office

Ex-Managing Director, Millennium Management ($87b AUM)

Michael Woods

President, Woods Capital

Ex-CEO & COO, Rothschild & Co. Asset Management U.S., Inc. ($8b AUM)

Zachary Meisel

Civic Entrepreneur

Jesse Friedlander

Founder, Des Voeux Partners family office

Formerly at JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, and Susquehanna International Group

Mike Ryan

Co-Founder, Bullet Point Network

Ex-Head of Public Equity and Absolute Return, Harvard Management Company ($57b)

Head of Global Securities, Credit Suisse

Partner and Head of Global Equity Products, Goldman Sachs

Private Equity/Real Estate/Infrastructure


Jo Natauri

Founder & Managing Partner, Invidia Capital Management

Ex-Global Head of Private Healthcare investing at Goldman Sachs

Institutional Investors


Jonathan Golub

Managing Director, Chief Equity Strategist at Seaport Research Partners

Ex-Chief US Equity Strategist, UBS, Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets, Bear Stearns & Company, JP Morgan Asset Management

Uche Orji

Former CEO, Nigerian sovereign wealth fund ($3.4b AUM)

Mark Spindel

Founder and CIO, Potomac River Capital
Senior Advisor, Partner, PilotWaveAI 

Co-Author, The Myth of Independence, How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve

Former-CIO, District of Columbia Retirement Board ($10.8b AUM); Deputy Treasurer and CIO of the International Finance Corporation ($15bn reserves)

Sheryl Schwartz

Adjunct Professor Private Equity and Finance, Fordham Gabelli School of Business. 

ex-Managing Director, Alternative Investments, TIAA-CREF ($1.5tr AUM)

Marcos Buscaglia

Author "Beyond the ESG Portfolio. How Wall Street Can Help Democracies Survive."

Previously, Head of LatAm Economics Research, BofA.

Reginald M. Browne

Principal, GTS Securities, formerly Senior Managing Director, Cantor Fitzgerald. Launched 20% of U.S. ETFs.

Venture Capital/Non-Dilutive Funding


Jamie Moy

Investment Director at Lighter Capital (>$550m deployed)

Former startup founder and investor

Ex- JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, DLJ

Howard Morgan

Chair, B Capital Group ($11b AUM).

Previously, Co-Founder, First Round Capital ($3b AUM)

Founding President, Renaissance Technologies ($96b AUM) 

Jason Freedman

General Partner, Orange Collective

Two-time Y Combinator Founder

David Teten

Partner, Orange Collective

Ex-Managing Partner, HOF Capital (now >$10b AUM). Ex-Chairman, YJLPAC (the US's only Jewish Republican PAC at the time)

Corporates


Ben Bilbrough

Cofounder and CEO, Action Tank

Civic Society


Jacob Bornstein

President, Mediators Foundation

Co-Founder, Investors for a Better America

Maury Giles

CEO, Braver Angels

Former President at Ipsos

John Gable

Co-founder & CEO, AllSides
Former Republican strategist for three U.S. Senate Majority Leaders, the RNC, and President George H.W. Bush
Former Microsoft Office and Netscape executive

Tania Tetlow

President, Fordham University
Former president of Loyola University New Orleans

Meredith Sumpter

President & CEO, FairVote
Former CEO, Council for Inclusive Capitalism
Former Head of Research Strategy & Operations, Eurasia Group

Caleb Christen

Co-founder, Better Together America
U.S. Navy Veteran

Julia Roig

Founder & Chief Network Weaver, The Horizons Project
Former President & CEO, PartnersGlobal

Manu Meel

Co-founder & CEO, BridgeUSA

Hollie Russon Gilman

Senior Advisor, Trust for Civic Life
Former White House Open Government
Innovation Advisor; Senior Fellow, New America

Tadd Wilson

Head of New Builds, Stand Together 
Former ShopRunner, IBM, SmarterX

Shannon Green

CEO & President, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
Former Executive Director, Anti-Corruption Task Force, USAID

Jason Mangone

Executive Director, More in Common US
Former Director of The Franklin Project at the Aspen Institute
Co-author of Leaders: Myth and Reality

Kristin Hansen

Executive Director, Civic Health Project
Former senior executive at Intel and IBM; Co-Chair, More Perfect campaign

Jane DeRonne

Director of Development, Participatory Budgeting Project
Former Senior Policy Consultant, TEC Services

Megan Young Weise

Board Member, IssueOne
Former VP of Marketing, The O’Connor Group Former Senior VP, ERE Yarmouth

Mark Gerzon

Founder & Board Chair, Mediators Foundation
Author, Reunited States of America
Former lead facilitator, Bipartisan Congressional Retreats

Harry Gottlieb

Founder, Unify America
Founder of Jellyvision and Jackbox Games

Marianne Viray

Executive Director, Disagree Better
Former founding Managing Director, Campaign Legal Center
Former Managing Director, The Reform Institute, chaired by Sen. John McCain

Christopher Life

Founder, Better Governance Institute
Founder, United Independents and Independent National Convention

David Nevins

Co-founder & Chairman of the Board, Bridge Alliance
President, Nevins Real Estate Management
Publisher, the Fulcrum

Program

One day. Plenaries, panels, and committed action.

Schedule is subject to change.

The evening before: Wednesday, September 2

  • 6:30 pm: Exclusive Speakers and Sponsors Reception and Dinner

The conference: Thursday, September 3

  • 8:00 am: Registration & Breakfast

  • 9:00 am: Welcome and Purpose

  • 9:30 am: Healthy American Democracy, Healthy Investments

  • 10:10 am: Welcoming Address from the President of Fordham University

  • 10:20 am: Break

  • 10:40 am: Democracy Does Not Heal Itself: An Introduction to the Better America Movement

  • 10:50 am: Civil Society Solutions Showcase: Changing Culture

  • 11:10 am: Civil Society Solutions Showcase: Solving Problems

  • 11:30 am: Special Announcement - Collaborative Impact Initiative

  • 11:35 am: Interactive Discussions with Civil Society Leaders

  • 12:15 pm: Lunch w/ Short Keynote

  • 1:15 pm: Investor Leadership for a Better America

  • 2:05 pm: Investor Leadership: Interactive Table Discussion Session 1

  • 2:50 pm: Investor Leadership: Interactive Table Discussion Session 2

  • 3:15 pm: Break

  • 3:45 pm: Takeaways and Personal Commitments

  • 4:15 pm: Closing Keynote

  • 4:30 pm: Happy Hour

  • 6:30 pm: Adjourn

Get Involved

We’re currently seeking introductions to the following:

  • A-list speakers, primarily prominent investors who can speak about the  importance of a constitutional republic in supporting a healthy investment climate, or what actions they are taking to support those norms.

  • Marketing Partners who share our goal and can share the event with their network of potential attendees.

  • Sponsors to help finance the conference. In accordance with nonprofit law, 98% of all sponsorships are tax-deductible donations to Mediators Foundation, a 501( c )3 nonprofit. See more information on becoming a sponsor.

More broadly, we’re seeking: 

  • Your ideas for Recommended Actions, that senior investors and business leaders can take to strengthen the rule of law and our republic.

Contact Us

Venue

Pope Auditorium, Fordham Lincoln Center.

Fordham University building with trees and a street in the foreground.

Fordham Gabelli
School of Business

Pope Auditorium · Lincoln Center campus

ADDRESS
140 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023

NEAREST TRANSIT
1 train at 66th St–Lincoln Center
A/B/C/D/1/2 at 59th St–Columbus Circle

NEAREST ENTRANCE
Enter using the 60th St entrance

Who We Are

About Us

We are a group of investors across all major asset classes who are concerned that many of the conditions that have made America an exceptional place to invest and build are under growing strain from polarization, corruption, declining trust, over-centralization, and institutional dysfunction across the political spectrum.

We are nonpartisan: We do not endorse political parties or candidates. We welcome people with diverse political beliefs and focus on the shared civic, constitutional, and economic foundations that allow Americans to pursue those differences peacefully and productively. Quoting Harry Markowitz, pioneer of modern portfolio theory, “The only free lunch in investing is diversification.”

Sponsors

Gold Level

Silver Level

Bronze Level

Founding Collaborative Impact Initiative Supporter

Marketing Partners

Who We Are

The conference is co-founded and co-chaired by David Teten, Partner, Orange Collective, and Jacob Bornstein, President, Mediators Foundation.

Marisol Rodriguez, Founder, Insignia Partners, is Project Manager and Alex Berg is Director of Investor Partnerships.

FAQs

Questions, answered.

Free Download:
Conference Resource Packet

We believe that investors have influence over corporate America, and a responsibility to use that influence to promote our free enterprise, constitutional democracy. We have identified a range of nonpartisan actions that investors can take to promote a functioning economy, along with supporting resources to learn more and examples of allies. We share:

  • An overview of the conference

  • Research on the correlation between a healthy constitutional democracy and a vibrant economy

  • Actions investors can take for a better and more prosperous America

Download Resource Packet