ImpactAlpha Open

The impact investing job market + differentiation in the jittery private credit market

Dennis Price ¡ December 2, 2025

Hi there, Agents of Impact! Welcome to ImpactAlpha Open, a free weekly sampling of the top news and views from ImpactAlpha.

🎉 Cyber Monday Week. There’s still to upgrade your subscription at 75% off – and get real-time impact investing news and analysis to keep you ahead of the curve. Get 1 year for $99.

🔌 Plug in, today: Latin America’s climate investing opportunity. From bio-based materials to urban mining and distributed energy, Latin America is a proving ground for bold climate innovation. On today’s PluggedIn, Savia Ventures’ Andres Baehr joins Sherrell Dorsey to detail Savia’s investment thesis, as well as practical steps for US and European investors trying to maintain momentum in the face of climate headwinds. Get PluggedIn, TODAY, Dec. 2, at 10am PT / 1pm ET. RSVP for login details.

In this week’s Open:

  • How the impact investing job market has fared since 2024
  • What LPs are looking for in private credit strategies
  • COP30 climate summit limps to a close
  • Podcast: Investing in sustainable and ethical fashion 

Let’s dive in. â€“ Dennis Price

Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

  • How has the impact investing job market changed since 2024? Rumors of the demise of impact-related jobs have been greatly exaggerated, say Shawn Cole, Jonah Zahnd and Anushka Kataruka of Harvard Business School’s Project on Impact Investment. They find that, despite headline-grabbing layoffs, the impact investing job market contracted only modestly – about 2.2% – for the period from May 2024 to May 2025. Learn more.
  • In jittery private credit market, LPs look for differentiation, co-investment and sustainability. As private credit has ballooned and its economic underpinnings have become shakier, LPs are scrutinizing managers. In: differentiated strategies and conservative underwriting. Out: low-margin loans in crowded sectors that encourage looser underwriting,” reports ImpactAlpha’s Amy Cortese from Super Return in New York. Keep reading.
  • Global climate summit salvages an agreement, but without a plan to phase out fossil fuels. Climate negotiators at COP30 braved sweltering heat, tropical downpours and a fire that erupted in the convention center and pushed the talks into the weekend. In the end, the deal they reached was seen by climate advocates as a bitter compromise, Amy reports. Catch up.

Agents of Impact

🏃 On the move

  • Sonen Capital taps Giselle Mendoza, previously with Full Spectrum Capital, as a research associate on its private markets team.
  • Lauren Crain, formerly with World Education Services, joins Social Strategy Associates as a senior advisor.
  • Energy Impact Partners welcomes Julian Dreiman, formerly with Evergrow, as an AI research and innovation associate.

The Week’s Podcast

😎 Agents of Impact Podcast: Cordes Foundation’s Steph Stephenson weaves gender into sustainable fashion investing

Roughly 80% of garment workers are women, many in unsafe or low-wage jobs. “The industry runs on women,” Steph Stephenson of the Cordes Foundation says on the latest Agents of Impact Podcast. “When we invest in ethical fashion and sustainable supply chains, we’re investing in women’s rights, economic mobility and dignity.” Stephenson’s parents, Ron and Marty Cordes, started the foundation in 2006 and focused on women and girls from the start. Since joining in 2014, Stephenson has channeled that mission into sustainable fashion, where labor, climate and gender issues collide. 

Get in the Game

💼 Step up

🤝 Meet up

🎉 Take 75% off an ImpactAlpha subscription. Subscribe today.

Bring your team onto ImpactAlpha. Save with substantial group discounts. Start here.

Lead the conversation. Sponsor a beat, newsletters or calls with ImpactAlpha. Get in touch.