By Donovan Ervin
I remember sitting down for my first planning session when I had a very specific vision. It was thrilling when the moment I envisioned actually happened—five weeks into the school semester. During a class discussion on values, a self-described jokester shared his perspective and ended his insightful remarks with a light-hearted comment and a big grin. Then, the laughter. It lasted only a few breaths, but it flowed with warmth and ease. I felt the energy in the room shift as everyone relaxed.
This! This is what I had hoped for when I took the leap to teach the first undergraduate impact investing course at Southern Methodist University (SMU). Because this was also my first time as a university instructor, everything was new and required building.
I accepted the challenge to teach because it aligned with my mission and work. As an impact investing practitioner, I help direct financial capital toward environmentally- and socially-focused companies. But impact investing, at its best, is about more than just moving capital; it’s about shifting culture and power. It’s about using money to nurture life-sustaining systems. Money as medicine, as Edgar Villanueva puts it. And I was inspired by the idea that through this course, I could guide the next generation of students to explore the higher purpose of finance.
I love teaching and facilitating, but the magnitude of this opportunity weighed on me. I felt out of my depth and overwhelmed. In moments of self-doubt, I wondered if I was experienced, engaging, and competent enough to lead students to grapple with the nuances of impact investing.
Fortunately, my experience as a Just Economy Institute Fellow provided a blueprint. I borrowed from JEI’s learning framework to design a course with three focus areas: the inner work of personal reflection, the practical work of understanding financial capital as a powerful tool, and the collective work of cultivating relationships in the classroom and broader community. I was drawn to this framework for my course because, unlike with traditional academia, it calls upon financial activists to bring their full selves to the work. Hearts and heads. My own growth as a JEI Fellow showed me that this integrated approach can help leaders create change with more compassion, intention, and efficacy.
With that in mind, I designed coursework to sharpen and assess students’ practical and conceptual knowledge. We analyzed impact frameworks, compared asset classes, and evaluated investment opportunities. At the same time, I knew a quiz or memo alone wouldn’t capture the holistic, heartful learning that I desired for my students. That’s why laughter was so integral to my initial vision: it pointed to the trust and connection required to go beyond transactions and into transformation.
Although laughter wasn’t an official departmental learning objective, I hoped to see it, and I made intentional efforts to create the conditions for it to emerge. To disrupt hierarchy, we arranged the desks into an oval, rather than the standard classroom rows, so that we could see and learn from each other. To connect with our bodies and the present moment, we began class with breathwork. To foster relationships, we had one-on-one conversations with different partners each class and invited impact investing leaders to come speak. And to tap into personal values, students practiced storytelling and imagining the world they wanted for future generations.
Especially at first, the idea of my students laughing in my class seemed, well, laughable. I sensed their resistance to this new content and style. My self-doubt returned, pointing out that these experiments weren’t working, and I was foolish for taking this on. So, when that first collective laugh finally came, I felt relieved. This moment of levity signaled to me that we were progressing towards the holistic learning experience I had imagined.
Fortunately, the students had several more moments of laughter and discovery throughout the semester. I also saw my own growth, as I confronted my insecurities and gained more confidence in my ability to do hard things. I’m grateful to my tribe—JEI members, colleagues, and loved ones—who generously offered the materials, time, and support that enabled a successful semester. I was reminded that I’m connected to a community of brilliant co-conspirators and supporters also pursuing deep transformation.
Of all the learning that took place, my most important discovery is this: whether teaching a university course or addressing society’s biggest challenges, we must lead with our full humanity.
Donovan Ervin (he/him) is Vice President in the Investment Group at Tiedemann Advisors. In this role, he is helping to direct capital toward a more inclusive, just, and regenerative economy. This work aligns closely with Donovan’s professional mission: developing and supporting new markets that shift patterns of production and consumption, distribute power and ownership more democratically, and expand the definition of wealth to include individual, community, and planetary health and well-being.
Previously, Donovan has held positions at various organizations in the social sector, ranging from K-12 education to community development to environmental justice.
Based in Dallas, Texas, Donovan is a graduate of Yale University (MBA and Master of Environmental Management) and Stanford University (BA in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity). He is a JEI alumnus and a proud advisory board member at the Yale Center for Business & Environment and the SMU Impact Lab. Outside of work, Donovan enjoys writing, exercising, and being with his people.
