Session 4 • October 10, 2024

UMC Social Principles and the
Impact of Socially Responsible Investments

This session has been developed in direct response to student questions regarding where and how Iliff invests its resources. Guest speakers will review the fundamentals of endowments, investing, and social responsibility.

Barbara Boigegrain serves as Treasurer of the Iliff School of Theology Board of Trustees.  Before retirement, she served the United Methodist Church for 27 years as the CEO of Wespath Benefits & Investments, the nation’s largest faith-based pension and investment organization. As CEO and General Secretary of Wespath, Barbara oversaw all fiduciary services and administrative operations of the General Board, which has approximately $20 billion in assets under management.  She set business and growth strategy, oversaw the implementation of the organization’s business plan and annual budget, and maintained the denominational and board of directors’ relationships.  Prior to joining the General Board, Barbara enjoyed an 11-year consulting career with Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson), a global human resources management consulting firm. She established the company’s San Diego office in 1990 and managed a broad client base, including many of the area’s leading corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Meredith Wilson Parfet serves as Vice-Chairperson of the Iliff School of Theology Board of Trustees.  An accomplished investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, she has nearly two decades of asset management and hedge fund experience, including acting as the Chief Operating Officer for two alternative investment funds. She also co-founded Denali Venture Philanthropy, an investment organization that funds entrepreneurs who are committed to social change.  Meredith has led organizations of all sizes, from small start-ups to complex, global operations.  Meredith holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, an MA in Spiritual Care from the Iliff School of Theology, and a BA in Political Science from Northwestern University.  She is a certified End of Life Doula as well as a practicing Hospice Chaplain.

Lucas Schoeppner is a manager at Wespath Benefits and Investments, the nation’s largest faith-based pension and investment organization. Wespath works in the service of the United Methodist Church.  He manages the investment stewardship and engagement activities of Wespath.  Along with Wespath subsidiaries’ investment programs, Lucas supports their efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk consideration into the investment selection and decision-making process.  Before Wespath, Lucas served as a director on the Catholic Responsible Investments team at Christian Brothers Investment Services.  There, he was responsible for projects focused on quantitative ESG scoring models, screening and sub-adviser due diligence. Prior to Christian Brothers Investment Services, Lucas was sector manager and lead analyst of Sustainalytics’ oil and gas research.  Lucas earned a B.A. in journalism from Northeastern University.  In 2013, he was selected for the Fulbright “U.S. Young Journalists” research grant.