“My Christian meditation practice has provided the silence and inspiration I have needed for many life decisions, large and small. These have included trusting in our ability to both start SJF and to raise successive funds with a stewardship and sustainability mission.”
Dave Kirkpatrick
Co-founder and Managing director SJF Ventures
SJF Ventures is a positive impact growth equity fund with $260 million under management.
The fund has invested in more than 65 companies in the clean energy, sustainable food, recycling and reuse, health and education sectors. Dave practices centering or contemplative prayer and takes annual retreats at Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery. He has been inspired by writings such as the ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ and books by Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, and Teresa of Avila.’
“Meditation has been wonderful for my life. It has helped me maintain perspective, reduce stress, better manage and organize work and my daily tasks. My meditation practice energizes and focuses me for the day. It also allows me to intimately connect with my innermost thoughts. Put simply, I am a better and more thoughtful person because of my practice.”
W. David Hubbard
Vice President & DGCl for Verizon Communications
David leads Verizon’s Consumer Marketing and Products legal team that supports Verizon’s portfolio of Consumer businesses including Verizon Wireless, Verizon Telecom, Verizon Consumer Markets, and Visible, among others. David previously led Verizon’s Intellectual Property and Digital media legal teams and served as the General Counsel for the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon. He serves as Chair of Verizon’s Public Policy, Legal, & Security Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.
David is active in several community organizations such as Chair of the Board for the National Board of Directors for the Council of Better Business Bureaus and serves on the board for Brightpoint Care – a leading non-profit provider of medical, mental health care and social support services to people challenged by health disparities. He and his wife (Tamiko Hubbard) co-founded Sweet Reads, a literacy-based, non-profit organization providing books for children in underserved communities.
“Meditation can be a cornerstone for developing good brain health and brain function. Our studies over the past 30 years document a number of beneficial brain changes when people engage in meditation, whether for a few minutes or a lifetime.“
Andrew B. Newberg, M.D.
Dr. Newberg is currently a Professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He has actively pursued a number of neuroimaging research projects which have included the study of aging and dementia, epilepsy, and other neurological and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Newberg has been particularly
involved in the study of mystical and religious experiences, a field referred to as “neurotheology”. He has also studied the more general mind/body relationship in both the clinical and research aspects of his career including understanding the physiological correlates of meditation and other types of alternative therapies. He has published over 200 peer reviewed articles and chapters on brain function, brain imaging, and the study of religious and mystical experiences. He is the best selling author of Why God Won’t Go Away and How God Changes Your Brain, and has published 10 books which have been translated into 16 different languages. He was listed as one of the 30 Most Influential Neuroscientists Alive Today by the Online Psychology Degree Guide.
“In any given week, I have so many things that require my attention. Meditation has given me the ability to quiet my mind so I can think clearly and be more deliberate when solving problems.”
Michael Wells
Michael Wells is a healthcare venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur. He created Princeton Biopharma Capital Partners in 2010 to provide growth capital to healthcare start-ups. Previously he was the Founder and CEO of Aton Pharma, a private equity backed pharmaceutical company that was successfully sold in 2010. In addition to several board responsibilities, he is the Chairman and acting CEO of an animal health company called Fidelis Pharmaceuticals.