2021 Fellows Spotlight
Summer 2021 Tadler fellow May Gong strives to empower underdeveloped communities with innovative solutions and wants to work on mobilizing financial resources to support sustainable social missions. This summer she is interning at LOCUS Impact Investing where she hopes to make an impact in local community investments in the Appalachia region.
An international student and rising 4th year in the Batten School double majoring in Public Policy and Leadership and Economics, Gongs’ background in and study of public policy has informed her pursuit of impactful and meaningful work. She co-founded a mental health non-profit in late 2020 which promotes peer to peer mental health support to address the mental health crisis borne from the COVID-19 pandemic via their app-based service. Engaging in non-profit work introduced her to a new line of work where she could help local communities and pushed her to enroll in a social entrepreneurship course the following term.
"During my j-term “Impact Investing In Action: Appalachia”, I gained a better understanding of what impact means and how it is so important to know the people you are serving and what exactly they want and need at a particular time."
She is spending her summer at LOCUS gaining valuable exposure to the world of impact investing in the Appalachian region. LOCUS is an investment management group which helps local organizations manage their funds and invest capital to generate the greatest impact. Their Invest Appalachia (IA) initiative finds ways to attract and manage funds in the central Appalachian region and develop priority sectors including affordable housing, renewable energy, and job creation. Gaining hands-on experience, Gong identifies and researches potential investors in the region and asses their likelihood of investment towards the fund based on a set of metrics.
As part of her internship, she listens in on weekly meetings which has allowed her to gain an understanding of how the team works and communicates to solve problems together. Often this includes discussions on their methodologies in investor relations; investment policy-making; and developing policies on defining relevant investments and effective investments.
“Hearing [the team] talk to potential clients and investors made me realize that you must believe in the same thing[s] in order make it happen. You must strive for greatness and scrutiny in your work; you have to review every single piece of work you send whether to an investor, client, or broader audience…It shows your dedication. In order to do this type of work you have to be really passionate, detail oriented, and really good at team coordination."
For students passionate about making an impact in local communities, Gong recommends taking a course on impact investing and exploring other adjacent studies related to social impact. Finding a mentor can also be helpful as they can walk you through the different career options in the field and how to connect with those opportunities.
"Being involved with LOCUS, I was able to see how so many different aspects of impact investing work: financial calculations, data visualization, outreach, communication. All these different branches of work are so interesting, and it keeps you busy and fulfilled. That is what I see myself doing after graduation; I want to do meaningful impactful work."
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has taken on a growing importance in the impacting investing realm. LOCUS has taken steps to highlight the racial inequity and injustice in the IA region and amplify local voices on the matter. While there is room for DEI growth in the field, Gong admires the diversity within LOCUS and among her passionate peers in the cohort who represent the future faces of impact investing.