Melissa Stevens
Showing 1–15 of 18 transcripts.
- Milken Institute47 min
How Can Philanthropy Address Complex Climate Crises? | Asia Summit 2025
Melissa Stevens, Anindya Novyan Bakrie, Jamie Choi, Boon Heong Ng, Chavalit Frederick Tsao
This event convened climate leaders and philanthropists to address the critical urgency of narrowing the decade-long window for irreversible climate action while highlighting the severe underfunding of adaptation in vulnerable regions. Through case studies like Temasek's low-carbon rice initiatives and strategies for aligning Indonesia's renewable energy goals with smallholder economics, speakers emphasized philanthropy's role as de-risking capital to crowd in government and private sector investment. The dialogue concluded with a strategic pivot toward an "Asia-led" decade of climate action, urging a shift from isolated charity to coordinated, community-rooted systems that leverage local values to unlock scalable solutions and robust carbon markets.
- Milken Institute21 min
Part 1: A Conversation with The Carlyle Group's David M. Rubenstein | Global Conference 2025
David M. Rubenstein, Melissa Stevens
Jefferson Exchange co-founder Jeffrey Rubenstein addresses the critical threats facing U.S. philanthropy, including politicized historical preservation, potential tax policy changes, and declining civic literacy. He advocates for redefining the sector by honoring the percentage of wealth given rather than absolute sums, promoting in-person historical engagement to counter a crisis where nearly all states fail citizenship tests. Furthermore, Rubenstein highlights the strategic value of soft power assets like pandas while emphasizing that the upcoming 250th anniversary should prioritize deep constitutional understanding over superficial celebration.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Strengthening Communities: Corporate Philanthropy, Social Capital, & Resilience | Global Conference
Melissa Stevens, Nicole Anderson, Lynette Bell, Mary Culler, C.D. Glin, Jean Oelwang
Representatives from PepsiCo, Truist, AT&T, Ford, and Virgin Unite convened at the Milken Institute's "Toward a Flourishing Future" conference to outline strategies for strengthening community resilience against a surge in global disasters and deepening social fractures. These leaders detailed a shift toward enterprise-wide mobilization that leverages corporate assets, data analytics, and long-term pre-competitive partnerships to address food insecurity, disaster recovery, and the digital divide. The panel emphasized that sustainable impact requires multi-year funding horizons, internal employee alignment, and the repositioning of trust as essential infrastructure for systemic change.
- Milken Institute26 min
Game On: Unlocking the Social Impact of Sports | Middle East and Africa Summit 2024
Melissa Stevens, Christian Horner, Wladimir Klitschko
At a Milken Institute panel moderated by Melissa Stevens, Christian Horner of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Dr. Vladimir Klitschko of the Klitschko Foundation discussed leveraging sports to drive social change through STEM education, diversity initiatives, and trauma-informed youth programs. Horner detailed how Formula One utilizes massive data collaboration and inclusive team cultures to foster engineering talent, while Klitschko outlined his "Face the Challenge" methodology and the strategic pivot of his foundation to support Ukraine following the 2022 invasion. Both leaders concluded that intentional partnerships are essential for sports to effectively dismantle societal barriers and act as a unified force for global evolution.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Transformative Philanthropy and Innovation | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Melissa Stevens, Pablo Legorreta, Strive Masiyiwa, Louise Richardson, Mark Walter
CEO Mark Walter, Strive Masiwa, Dame Louise Richardson, and Pablo Legareta convened to define transformative philanthropy as high-risk capital that drives systemic change in healthcare, education, and conservation. The panel detailed specific strategies such as Legareta's medical therapies for transplant patients, Walter's vocational schools in Chicago, and community-integrated conservation models in Zimbabwe that successfully reduced rhino poaching. Ultimately, the leaders agreed that effective philanthropy must prioritize sustainable governance and local resource mobilization to mitigate polarization and create a self-sustaining future.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Emerging Zoonotic Diseases and Planetary Health: Stopping the Next Pandemic Before It Starts
Melissa Stevens, Simone Friedman, Eric Goode, Mark Smolinski, Gunhild A. Stordalen
Leading experts, policymakers, and investors are mobilizing through the bipartisan "Stop Future Pandemics" bill and a $23 trillion capital initiative to restructure global food systems and halt wildlife trafficking that drives zoonotic disease emergence. This coordinated effort integrates the One Health approach to simultaneously address ecosystem degradation, industrial farming risks, and socioeconomic drivers of spillover by repurposing $700 billion in agricultural subsidies and establishing new ESG disclosure standards. With support from the World Bank, EAT, and over 377 organizations, stakeholders aim to prevent future pandemics by transforming supply chains, funding surveillance technology in resource-limited regions, and ensuring equity for indigenous communities before the next crisis emerges.
- Milken Institute57 min
Addressing Mental Health Challenges and Access During COVID-19 - Conference Call Series
Melissa Stevens, Jerome Bettis, Dr. Joshua Gordon, Nancy Lublin
Amid a pandemic that has exacerbated pre-existing mental health crises and disproportionately affected women, people of color, and economically vulnerable populations, experts like Dr. Joshua Gordon and Nancy Lublin highlight the "three-headed monster" of virus, quarantine, and economic collapse driving rising anxiety, isolation, and domestic violence rates. To address these surging needs, digital platforms like Crisis Text Line are scaling remote support models while initiatives such as "Embrace Pittsburgh" attempt to bridge the technology gap for underserved students and families. The collective response emphasizes a shift toward accessible, data-driven interventions that combine community mobilization with systemic changes in healthcare delivery to prevent acute reactions from becoming chronic long-term conditions.
- Milken Institute48 min
Building Mental Health Resilience at Each Stage of Life
Melissa Stevens, Cynthia Germanotta, Joshua Gordon, Howard Spivak, Nora Super, Jennifer Velez
A comprehensive panel of researchers, clinicians, and patients addressed the U.S. mental health crisis as a "wicked problem," highlighting that social determinants account for 70% of health outcomes while genetic and early-life stress factors significantly influence biological aging and resilience. The discussion underscored the urgent need to bridge the massive care gap for youth through digital therapeutics, collaborative care models, and policy reforms that integrate non-clinical support with traditional treatment to mitigate a $400 billion annual economic drag. Experts called for a systemic shift toward preventative strategies and stigma reduction, arguing that treating mental illness with the same biological equivalence as chronic physical conditions is essential for improving functional wellness across all life stages.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
Earth on the Brink: A Sixth Extinction, or a Breakthrough in Biodiversity?
Melissa Stevens, Paul Bunje, Thomas Meredith, Jill Robinson, Laura Turner Seydel
The event addresses the sixth mass extinction driven by human activity, highlighting critical threats from factory farming and biodiversity loss while contrasting them with innovative solutions like rewilding and debt-for-nature swaps. Panelists emphasized the urgent need for a $300 to $400 billion annual investment in conservation and showcased how technological surveillance and impact investing are shifting financial incentives toward verified sustainability. By integrating community-led economic models with global policy shifts, the speakers argued that converging exponential growth in renewable energy and AI offers a viable, albeit immediate, path to reversing the current ecological crisis.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Philanthropy in Transition: Better Ways to Do Good
Melissa Stevens, Silvia Bastante de Unverhau, Alexandre Mars, Pamela Norley, Fay Twersky, Ambassador Corby Crimson, Stephanie
An estimated $30 to $40 trillion in wealth transfer over the next four decades is driving a fundamental shift toward collaborative, systems-level philanthropy where Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials engage simultaneously. Strategic innovators are leveraging technology to bridge trust deficits and democratize giving through cryptocurrency integration, virtual reality engagement, and aggregated funding models like Co-Impact that prioritize beneficiary feedback over traditional metrics. This evolving landscape emphasizes "listening deeply" to communities and adopting impact investing to de-risk solutions, moving the sector from sporadic charity toward sustainable, scalable change.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
A Conversation With Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall, Brian Sheth, Melissa Stevens
Jane Goodall and Brian Sheth discuss the convergence of private equity capital and global conservation through Goodall's Jane Goodall Institute and Sheth's leadership of Global Wildlife Conservation. They detail the expansion of Goodall's Roots & Shoots program to 150,000 youth groups and the institute's use of satellite technology to protect chimpanzee populations in Gombe and the Republic of Congo. The dialogue concludes with a strategic emphasis on integrating scientific rigor into policy-making and leveraging financial markets to sustain long-term environmental resilience.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
How Philanthropic Capital Can Spark 21st Century Innovations
Melissa Stevens, Joe Cerrell, Madeleine Clarke, Johan Eliasch, Igor Tulchinsky
Leading philanthropists from the Gates Foundation, WorldQuant, and Co-Impact convened to redefine "venture philanthropy" by shifting from traditional grant-making toward market-based strategies that crowd in private capital for global challenges like disease, conservation, and climate instability. Through case studies on contraceptive pricing, indigenous rainforest conservation, and data-driven healthcare analytics, the event highlighted how cross-sector partnerships can achieve measurable scale while emphasizing strict governance metrics to ensure sustainability. The dialogue concluded with a strategic call to prioritize sustainable energy, integrate governments into solution design, and navigate the risks of over-claiming impact to foster genuine systems change.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Supercharge the Search for Cures: Medical Philanthropists Reinvent Giving to Get Results
LaTese Briggs, Debra Black, Cindy L. Citrone, Joyce Keller, Melissa Stevens, Rob Citron
A panel of leaders from the Melanoma Research Alliance, 33 Foundation, and Gilbert Family Foundation discussed a strategic sector shift from reactive check-writing to active venture philanthropy that leverages flexible capital to fill the translational research gap. These institutions demonstrated high-impact outcomes, such as funding all 11 FDA-approved melanoma therapies and developing a non-profit venture fund to accelerate breast cancer treatments, while also employing non-cash assets like sports partnerships to drive systemic organ donation reforms. By addressing structural barriers including the nonprofit consolidation of small entities and the medical device "valley of death," the experts advocated for patient-centric infrastructure investments and deep, data-driven engagement models to maximize scientific returns.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Leverage: How Philanthropies Use New Tools to Create Change
Melissa Stevens, Marlo Gottfurcht Longstreet, Thomas Meredith, Brian Sheth, Todd Wagner
A panel of experts from Vista Equity Partners, Charity Network, and The Nature Conservancy convened to argue that traditional philanthropic models are insufficient for addressing systemic global crises, calling for a shift toward disruptive, data-driven strategies. The group advocated for consolidating redundant organizations, adopting market-competitive executive compensation, and leveraging digital technologies to replace inefficient fundraising with measurable outcomes. By prioritizing high-impact scientific research, genetic accessibility, and corporate integration of social purpose, the sector aims to solve "wicked problems" through collaboration between governments, private companies, and evolved investors.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
European Philanthropy's Role in Addressing Global Challenges
Melissa Stevens, Charles Chen Yidan, Michelle Dorian, Sir Michael Hintze, Alisa Swidler, Andrew Fairbairn, Steve Podmore, Jamie Webber
A panel of influential European donors, including Sir Michael Hintze, Michelle Dorian, Alyssa Swidler, and Charles Chen, outlined a strategic shift toward integrating investment values with moral obligation to address global challenges like youth unemployment and automation. They emphasized that sustainable philanthropy requires moving beyond rigid metrics to foster scalable local innovations while cultivating the next generation through early experiential engagement and blended revenue models. Highlighting this transition, the group launched the world's largest educational prize, the Yidan Prize, to reward systemic reforms and bridge the gap between capital markets and social impact infrastructure.