Matthew Blair is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of REI Capital Management, an innovative real estate company with the mission to democratize the wealth generating power of Commercial Real Estate for small balance global investors. Their flagship fund, REI Capital Growth, delivers long-term, tax-efficient, compounding growth with a tried-and-true real estate investment strategy typically employed by the wealthiest 1% of investors. Follow them on X (twitter) @REIGrowth or LinkedIn @REI Capital Management.

Sam Austin is Founder & Board Chair of IDAC (the Investment Diversity Advisory Council), an organization dedicated to increasing diversity of all types in the finance industry. Only 1.4% of U.S. Assets Under Management (AUM) is managed by diverse or female managers, and IDAC’s audacious goal is to double that within five years while also increasing the talent pool by 10,000 investment professionals from these underrepresented groups. IDAC brings together the five unique stakeholder groups together to co-develop actionable solutions, including allocators, consultants, diverse led managers, non-diverse led managers, and industry partners, believing that each group’s perspectives must be integrated in order to address this daunting challenge. IDAC is hosting its Global Summit on September 19th & 20th in Chicago with sponsorship from Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Carlysle, NEPC, Invesco, and others. Visit www.idac.net to register for the event and learn more about this important organization.

The term “Eco Warrior” is thrown around too casually these days, but Tim Fields is the real deal. Tim is the Founder & CEO of Hardshell Labs, an innovative startup leveraging modern technology to directly address previously unsolvable biological and ecological disasters. Imagine using lasers, 3D printing, chemistry, and e-sports to save an endangered species (yes, seriously). Even better, he’s figured out a business model to get paid while doing so. Tim is a lifelong Contract Field Biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, a TEDX speaker, and the star of the soon-to-be-released documentary Eco Hack. This podcast episode is unlike any you’ve heard before, so don’t miss it. Follow Tim’s work at www.hardshelllabs.com and feel free to email Tim directly at t.shields@hardshelllabs.com.