Canada

Krystal Valencia is a seasoned leader in the charitable sector and a self-taught housing advocate speaking at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), having raised millions of dollars for deserving charities as a Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE). Recognized as one of Canada’s Young Impact Leaders by Future of Good in 2022, she collaborates with universities, institutes and corporations to spearhead empathetic human-centric housing solutions. With experience working with vulnerable populations in mental health, gender-based violence with women + children, people with complex disabilities, and single-parent families—she champions long-term affordable housing.

Shaped by her United Nations CSW 2018 + 2023 delegate roles and UN Summit speeches, Krystal now focuses on equitable housing opportunities for all Canadians; a contribution to achieve SDG #11: Sustainable Cities & Communities. As the Founder of RentalRescue, she pioneers a turn-key, collaborative financial model empowering nonprofits to compete at market speed for building acquisition, preserving affordability, and housing security for vulnerable communities—buying their first multi-family building in 2024. Her expertise spans philanthropy, community connections, and human-centered design; backed by a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard Kennedy School and a Certificate in Design Thinking + Innovation, and Nonprofit Sector Management.

Susanna Penfield is invested in disrupting cycles of wealth and power from within privilege. As an inheritor of generational wealth, she is committed to the political education, transparent conversation, humility, and intention that is required to redistribute money, land, and influence. Born and raised in Vermont, Susanna has recently returned to her home state where she works as Food Access Coordinator for a non-profit addressing food insecurity in and around Burlington, VT. She additionally serves as an organizer for the Vermont chapter of Resource Generation, a national community of folks ages 18-35 with wealth and class privilege.

She holds a BA in Political Science and Feminist and Gender Studies from Colorado College, and a MSc in Gender Studies from the London School of Economics where her dissertation focused on white feminine guilt in narratives of philanthropy. She is a novel reader, creative writer, skier, hiker, biker, runner and sometimes polar plunger.

Swetha Krishnakumar is an Investments Director on the Impact Investments team at Momentus Capital, which is working to expand equitable capital and opportunities for businesses across all communities. Her work focuses on providing growth capital to minority entrepreneurs, worker-owned businesses, and businesses driving healthcare and healthy food access to underserved communities. She works across the spectrum from relationship building with entrepreneurs and business owners, understanding businesses and their needs, structuring bespoke investment offerings, and serving as a partner through the life of an investment. She has spent almost 10 years in the impact investing and social entrepreneurship space in the US and in India. She is passionate about bringing creativity and access to those who are otherwise overlooked and working to center underestimated business owners and communities in her approach to financial services.

She is a proud native of Atlanta, GA and now a proud transplant to Los Angeles. She has her MBA from Chicago Booth and degrees in Industrial Engineering and International Affairs from Georgia Tech.