Coffee Hour At The Commons

Today we're having a conversation with Rich Stein about the Global Philanthropy Leaders (GPL) initiative that works in churches with small groups of motivated, reliable, and curious youth to help them make microloans to those who wouldn't otherwise have access to capital. Rich lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut with his wife and they are members of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ridgefield. Rich is a co-founder of the GPL initiative, along with St. Stephen's rector the Rev. Whitney Altopp and their youth coordinator, Jane Lindenberg. Rich has worked as a private investor for the past two decades. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA in Marketing & Strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University. In addition to being a member of St. Stephen's he now chairs their investment committee, and he also serves on the board of trustees for the investment funds of the Episcopal Church of Connecticut, or ECCT. Rich joined us by phone, from Chicago.