A New Lens Podcast

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, talks with Michael Chernow, founder of Kreatures of Habit, about growing up in New York City and discovering entrepreneurship early, his path to sobriety and how small daily habits helped reshape his life, building and scaling...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Santiago Sedaca, CEO of LifeNet International, about his journey from growing up in a missionary family in Argentina to leading a network of about 500 faith-based health clinics across sub-Saharan Africa, how private...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, talks with Sharon Beach, Founder/CIO of EA Capital Management, about her journey from surviving a violent kidnapping to rebuilding life through faith and resilience. They dig into her passion for agriculture, how EA Capital...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Andrey Bolokhovskiy, founder and CEO of Provision Group, a Land Development and Real Estate Holding Co out of Vancouver, Washington. The two discuss Andrey’s tumultuous battle with drug addiction in his teens and...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, talks with Zachary Mannheimer, founder and chairman of Alquist 3D, which uses 3D printing to deliver exceptional designs while reducing infrastructure costs in economically distressed communities. They discuss how Zachary’s...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, talks with James Clement, Marine Infantry Officer, veteran rancher, and Senior Vice President of Grass and Rangeland at EarthOptics, a leader in innovative soil measurement and mapping technology. The guys discuss James' path...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Aaron Mbati, Portfolio Director at The Schmidt Family Foundation where he manages a portfolio of impact investments in clean energy and sustainable food systems, with a focus on Africa and emerging markets. Aaron...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Ferdinand Turatsinze, a young African investment analyst working with Fortis Green on renewable energy investment projects. Ferdinand details his professional path from schooling in his home country to earning his...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Robyn O’Brien - speaker, entrepreneur, and best-selling author of Seeding Innovation: The Path to Profit and Purpose in the 21st Century - on how her early financial services career found her covering the food...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with JaQ Campbell and Hope Lovell of Alexander Legacy Private Wealth Management, about investing and building businesses together during their successful decades-long partnership, their mission to increase financial...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Bill Kelly, former CEO of Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), about growing up in Yonkers NY and putting himself through college, learning the value of professional credentials while working...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Rob Hurlbut, Managing Director and Co-founder of Agriculture Capital - with over 30 years of experience investing in and leading reiterative farming businesses. Rob talks about how his time sourcing and buying coffee...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Andy Lower, an entrepreneur, investor, fund manager, financial advisor, and author of I Gave Away All My Clothes: Living Out Values Through Social Entrepreneurship - about his long journey in Impact Investing,...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Steven Moss, co-founder of M. Cubed - a resource economics and public policy analysis consulting firm, about his passion for engaging the levers of society to effect positive change, the challenges of creating a...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Mike West, author and Executive Chair and Chair of the Board at Lirio, a platform that influences a person’s health actions by leveraging behavioral science expertise and adapting to a person’s evolving clinical...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Shiri Sandler, Managing Director of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV), about what the purpose of a “youth village” is and why Rwanda is ideal for such a model that provides a sense of familial love and opportunity,...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Kendra VanderMeulen, CEO of the National Christian Foundation (NCF) who embodies the spirit of pioneering leadership and generosity. Kendra's remarkable journey began in the telecommunications industry with AT&T...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Emmanual Nsanganwa, Investment Analyst at Fortis Green Renewables, on growing up in a small village in Rwanda with little access to power, on starting his own non-profit to provide scientific education to students,...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Dave Clark, CEO of Promising People - which utilizes virtual reality training solutions for those struggling to find meaningful employment across the country. The guys chat about Dave’s background in real estate...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Michael Spraggins about his career as an entrepreneur and business owner, how his personal faith motivates his decisions, the founding of Lifenet International - a transformative healthcare conversion-franchise...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Ashleigh Chapman, a human rights lawyer and social entrepreneur, about her years of building solutions to end and prevent human trafficking as a non-profit, her realization that to effectively scale and sustain those...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Brian Estes, CIO of Off the Chain Capital and producer of the upcoming film God Bless Bitcoin. The guys discuss Brian’s long career in financial services, the accident that put him in a wheelchair as a teenager, his...

Jeff is joined by Jerome Ringo, Chairman of Zoetic Global, which was founded to revolutionize the energy sector through innovative solutions that unleash the power of renewable resources. The guys discuss how Jerome’s transition from a 22-year career in the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Kalen Salmon, Founder of Identity Ministry - a program that provides material and spiritual support for ex felons returning to society - about his troubled history with the law, his path to living a...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Tim Johnson, the Senior Pastor of Orlando World Outreach Center - about his 9-year NFL career in which he won a Superbowl with the Washington Redskins, dedicating his post football career to ministry in Tennessee and...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Sister Charlotte Davenport of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, about how her early life as a biologist in Alaska prepared her for a life as a finance manager, educator, and Impact investor for her congregation, how...

In a replay of one of our favorite episodes - Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Pete Leonard, founder and Roast Master of I Have a Bean, on how moving a lot as a child taught him the value of diversity, how a missions trip to Brazil and his...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Edmund Higenbottam, Managing Director of Verdant Capital, discussing his over 20 years of experience in investment capital and investment banking, how his early career in financial services led him to a focus on...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Kenny Eck, Founder and CEO of Patient Sortal, on his favorite part of growing up on a large-production farm, his accelerated educational path the led to 3 degrees in 5.5 years, his shift in focus from medical school...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with entrepreneur Janvier 'Mike' Ngamije, whose father died in the Rwanda genocide when he was 7 years old, on why it was important for him to forgive his father's murderer, being raised by a dedicated single mother, the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, chats with Greg Lanier, a pastor and New Testament professor at Reform Theological Seminary, on how his experience in financial services dovetailed nicely into a transition into ministry, how faith-based investors...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Alix Lebec, CEO of Lebec Consulting and an entrepreneur and advisor focused on the intersection of impact, philanthropy, and sustainable finance. Alix details her unique formative years growing up as a French citizen...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Reid Thomas, Managing Director and Chief Revenue Officer of JTC Americas, about living as a dual citizen, applying his Silicon Valley tech background to impact and opportunity zone funds, how the passage of time has...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Diane Damskey, Head of Secretariat- Operating Principles for Impact Management, on establishing a framework for bringing greater discipline and transparency to the impact investing market, her extensive career in...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Paulina Stannard, Head of Impact at CI Private Wealth, to chat about how a billionaire client changed her perspective and helped her analytical side and empathetic side combine forces to leverage capital for profit...

In a replay of our very first episode that you may have missed the first time around - Jeff speaks with Ron Cordes, a 30+ year veteran of the investment industry, co-founder and former CEO of AssetMark, and co-author of “The Art of Investing”. In 2006 Ron launched the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Toussaint Bailey, Founder and CEO of Uplifting Capital, to chat about how his “super parents” shaped his outlook on life, his career path from lawyer to manager of lawyers to wealth manager to founder and CEO, how...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Victor Lombard (aka DIVINE), CEO and founder of Solvent, on his troubled upbringing in Newport, RI leading to his incarceration, to starting a business that facilitates financial education and freedom for those...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by John Bowman, who serves as Executive Vice President for CAIA Association, to discuss his start in financial services, his eye-opening 14 years at the non-profit CFA Institute, how CAIA protects...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Jeff Shinabarger, Founder and Executive Director of Plywood People, on his passion for helping people get their ideas off the ground, starting a co-working space for problem solving start-ups, how defining success...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Marion Chebet, Senior Portfolio Manager and Director of Impact Investing at JFG Wealth, on growing up poor in Kenya, her collegiate running career in the US, the process of integrating Impact...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Ron Nikkel, President Emeritus of Prison Fellowship International and author of Hope in the Ruins, on his transition from running a successful business to working with troubled kids, how visiting a prison in Chile...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Sam Adams, CEO of Vert Asset Management and co-author of Your Essential Guide to Sustainable Investing, on his experience helping advisors in traditional finance transition from commission to fee-based business, how...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Rachel McDonough, Founder of Wealthfluence and Advisor with Wealth Squared (a team with EverSource Wealth Advisors), an author and financial advisor who is passionate about helping people integrate...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Stephen Hester, Due Diligence expert and new Vice President of Investments at CommonGood, to talk about how living and learning in Houston drove an interest in energy and energy systems, how stewards of capital are...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Jeff Korzenik, Chief Investment Strategist of Fifth Third Bank and author of Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and the Community, on his path through financial services to bank-based...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Chris Bentley, Managing Principal of De-Carceration Fund, on his transition from startups to his work in Impact themes like energy, environment, education, and healthcare - leading to his current focus on a fund...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Pete Leonard, founder and Roast Master of I Have a Bean, on how moving a lot as a child taught him the value of diversity, how a missions trip to Brazil and his brother-in-law's prison sentence collided to help...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Pete Ochs, Founder and Chairman of Capital III, on growing up in Kansas and starting his own investment banking business at the age of 30, his transition from pursuing success to pursuing significance and surrender,...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by self-proclaimed “Banking Nerd” Patrick Fisher, Founder and Managing Partner of Creation Investments, to chat about how living in China taught him how important access to banking services was for the poor and the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by economist Sharon Vosmek, CEO and Managing Partner of Astia Fund, to talk about how growing up in Ethiopia, Thailand, and Honduras helped form her life-long focus on actionable inclusion, why she resisted and then...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Morgan Simon, founding partner of Candide Group and author of Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change, to chat about how growing up in a highly segregated Los Angeles taught her to look at money...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Sherri Cooke, SVP-Business Development at iCapital Network, founder of AI Insight, Inc, and President of ADISA. Sherri tells the story of how she got into the industry, starting amidst the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Sharna Goldseker, a leading expert on multi-generational and next generation philanthropy, to discuss growing up in a major philanthropic family where she was asked for a grant at the age of 14, taking on the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Shundrawn Thomas, President and CEO of Northern Trust Asset Management and author of “Discover Joy in Work: Transforming Your Occupation Into Your Vocation”, to talk about being fascinated by grown-ups in...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Kyle Cousins, Orlando area Director of Mission Increase, to discuss being raised in a type-A family, spending a decade of his twenties moving from career to career before finally finding his calling in coaching...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Eva Yazhari, Founder of Beyond Capital and author of 'The Good That Money Can Do', to discuss her early experience in traditional financial services, how her family's experience in Africa motivated a transition...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Giti Khalsa, President of Pace Wealth Advisors, to discuss his experience growing up Sikh in Mississippi, his parents cultivating his love for the drums that lead to being a founding member of the platinum...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Alexandra Dest, founder and CEO of Willow, to talk about her path in financial services from a start in compliance to working her way to a CIO position at Berkshire Bank (all while battling multiple sclerosis),...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Bob Doll, author and commentator and former chief equity strategist at Nuveen and BlackRock, on his long career in the investment management business in large-cap public equities, how he fell in love with...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Greg Francis, lead counsel for the historic Black Farmers case, a 1.25 billion dollar class action lawsuit for black farmers who faced discrimination by the US Department of Agriculture. The guys discuss Greg’s...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Wasswa Robbins, a high school senior born in Uganda who, after the death of his twin brother and both parents, reached a level of malnourishment that required hospitalization. Later adopted by a christian missionary...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Gloria Nelund, CEO of TriLinc Global, to chat about her early-life move from Ohio to California where she pivoted from studying to be a teacher to eventually finding success as an executive in financial services,...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by John Rivers, Founder of Four Rivers Smokehouse and CEO of 4Roots, to chat about his transition from a 20 year career in healthcare to the food service industry, how a fundraiser for a little girl with cancer...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Russell Ginise, President of Alliant Strategic Investment, to chat about his time volunteering his legal services to the less fortunate, making the transition to equity investing in Affordable Housing, the...

In a very special episode, we turned the table on Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital and host of this very podcast, to pick his brain on what is and is not impact, how the different generations perceive their portfolios, the power in rejecting fear and greed in...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Spencer Oberg, co-founder of Unincarcerated Productions, to chat about how fixing bikes and smoking weed while growing up in Washington state eventually led from a short prison stint to facing a 10-year...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Sean Doherty, strategist behind the JDRF T1D Fund - to talk about growing up as a military kid who eventually joined the Navy, creating a fund that aims to completely transform the way a cure for Type 1...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Michael Whitaker, Vice President of Capital Markets also at CommonGood Securities - to talk about transitioning from car wash manager right out of college to the financial services industry, how the world...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Justin Miller, to chat about co-founding CARE for AIDS when he was in college, an organization that provides both physical and spiritual support for families affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya, the abundance of...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Laura Whitaker, Executive Director of Extra Special People (ESP) and co-founder of Java Joy, to chat about how as teenager she discovered a joy in serving children with developmental disabilities, the pursuit...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Jeff Lee, Vice President of Capital Markets also at CommonGood Securities - to talk about being raised by a single mom and his grandmother, making the move to Impact full time with CommonGood, his thoughts on...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Coss Marte, Founder and CEO of CONBODY – to talk about his younger years selling drugs on the streets of New York which led to a series of prison sentences, being told by a prison-doctor at age 24 that he was so...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Patrice Tsague, an author, business coach, entrepreneur, and co-founder and Chief Servant Officer of Nehemiah Project International Ministries – to chat about moving from a life of privilege in Cameroon, Africa to...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Korey Pollard, a 30 year veteran of film and TV production, to chat about his early start as a 16-year old actor in Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me, to his big move to Hollywood where he worked his way up from...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Andy Loving, a veteran RIA and owner of Just Money Advisor, to chat about his early days as minister working with bikers and drug addicts, running a magazine focused on hunger and economic justice, his...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Jennifer Murtie, Head of High Net Worth Practice and Senior Wealth Advisor at ‎Ballentine Partners, to chat about the early days of her career working at a single family office, how living in Africa for 18...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Heather Fortner, CEO of SignatureFD, to chat about how her start as a Chief Compliance Officer gave her a broad education into the financial services business, the value in taking the time to be curious and of...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Tom Nelson, President of Made to Flourish and author of “Economics of Neighborly Love”, to chat about his Biblically-based viewpoint on capital and stewardship, equipping congregations for success in the...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Jeff Gitterman, author of “Beyond Success” and co-founding partner in Gitterman Wealth Management, to discuss the moment he realized the impact he could have in the financial services industry, his time supporting...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Shelly Shafer to discuss her love of writing, her career transition from homemaker to author, her dream to educate people on how to use their time, talents and treasures in pursuit of stewardship, and more.

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Susan Correa, Founder and CEO of Art & Eden - an organic, eco-friendly, and ethical children's clothing brand - on her early career in fast-fashion, how a room full of schoolchildren changed the course of...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by Jonathan Shafer, Co-Founder of Fortis Green, to discuss his career in financial services and corresponding desire to mobilize capital to areas of great need and opportunity, his early experiences in Sierra Leone,...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, is joined by his friend Ping Lieu, whom he met doing prison ministry years ago. The two discuss Ping’s unexpected journey in life, his perspective while serving time inside prison, his personal and professional success since...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Sheeba Philip, CEO of Akola -  a woman’s lifestyle brand that offers on-trend custom jewelry products made by women in extreme poverty - on her career focused on buildings brands with purpose, her...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Sylvia Kwan, Chief Investment Officer at Ellevest, the first investing and financial planning firm designed by, for, and with women. Jeff and Sylvia discuss how she went from a computer science major to the investing...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Tim Seneff, President of the National Christian Foundation Orlando, a non-profit established to serve and encourage local philanthropists to grow as faithful stewards. Jeff and Tim discuss a health-scare in his 30’s...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Susan Schramm, founder of Go to Market Impact LLC, about getting good ideas unstuck, helping leaders systematically de-risk their strategies and improve their ability to get funding, the common mistake of...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Amrita Vatsal, Managing Director of Business Development at EFM - a forestry-based real asset investment and management company - about her life and career, the power of capital and stewardship as it relates to...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Todd Harper, Co-founder of Generous Giving - a non-profit that encourages people to be radically generous to the causes they care about - about his life and career, the motivations behind the founding of...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Emily Green, Director of Private Wealth at Ellevest - the first investing and financial planning firm designed by, for, and with women - about her life, meeting and working with Sallie Krawcheck, her influential...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Eddy Moratin from LIFT Orlando - a non-profit business and collection of community leaders who work together to close the gaps created by under-investment for children and families in communities around Orlando...

Jeff Shafer, CEO of CommonGood Capital, speaks with Ron Cordes, a 30+ year veteran of the investment industry, co-founder and former CEO of AssetMark, and co-author of “The Art of Investing”. In 2006 Ron launched the Cordes Foundation – and has since focused on...