W&L To Host Social Impact Careers Summit and Inaugural Shepherd Affinity Weekend The Social Impact Summit and Shepherd Affinity event will be held Nov. 6-8.
Kevin Green ’07 talks to a group of students at the Social Impact Careers Summit in the Harte Center in 2022.Washington and Lee University’s Social Impact Careers Summit will return to campus Nov. 6-8 with programming offering students the opportunity to network with and learn from alumni and others making a social impact through their professional lives. The event, which will also serve as the inaugural Shepherd Affinity Weekend for the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability, invites undergraduates and law students to join alumni for an impactful weekend of programming, networking and celebration. The Shepherd Program is hosting the summit in partnership with W&L’s Office of Career and Professional Development.
“The Social Impact Careers Summit is one of my favorite events because we connect students interested in a career or civic life that makes a positive impact with W&L’s incredible alumni network,” says Jenny Davidson, associate director of the Shepherd Program.
The summit, first held in 2016 and occurring for the sixth time in 10 years, will provide the program with an opportunity to observe the Shepherd Program’s 30th anniversary as well as the concurrent anniversaries of Campus Kitchen (20th) and the Bonner Program (25th), both of which are a part of the Shepherd Program. This year’s event schedule also includes a reflective discussion on the life and legacy of the late Harlan Beckley, founding director of the Shepherd Program and Fletcher Otey Thomas Profesor of Religion Emeritus.
“The weekend gives us all a unique opportunity to honor Harlan’s legacy and to connect with others whose lives have been shaped by Shepherd,” says Howard Pickett, director of the Shepherd Program. “It also gives us a chance to pay it forward — to offer current students the mentorship that so many of us received from Harlan, as well as other Shepherd faculty, staff and community partners. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate Harlan’s remarkable life, or these important Shepherd milestones, than by coming together to carry on the work.”
The summit features a variety of networking opportunities and panel discussions on different topics. The weekend’s events will also coincide with the Pumpkin Pieve-K fundraiser, Campus Kitchen’s annual fundraiser in partnership with Delta Society to support Campus Kitchen’s Mobile Food Pantry, which delivers fresh and nonperishable food to remote areas of Rockbridge County.
Register for the 2026 Social Impact Summit.
The Social Impact Careers Summit is supported by Alumni Engagement, Career and Professional Development, the Dean of the College and the Shepherd Program.
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