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Coffee & Conversation with Donaldson Fellow Anna Blanding ’09 MBA
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Thu, Sep 17, 2026
2 PM – 2:45 PM EDT (GMT-4)
Private Location (register to display)
10
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The Donaldson Fellows Program honors SOM alumni from all sectors and across the globe who share a dedication to solving complex problems and pursuing positive change in the world. It is the highest honor the school awards to alumni.
Anna Blanding is a Chief Investment Officer, institutional capital strategist, and governance leader redefining how capital can create long-term value for both institutions and society. Her career has been defined by a belief that foundations, endowments, family offices, corporations, and other long-term investors can generate exceptional financial performance while expanding economic opportunity, strengthening communities, and building enduring prosperity.
Anna serves as Chief Investment Officer of ConnCORP, where she leads investment strategy, capital formation, and strategic finance initiatives supporting transformative economic development. She is helping lead First Haven in Dixwell, a $200MM catalytic mixed-use development in historic New Haven that is demonstrating how innovative public-private partnerships, strategic investment, and robust community leadership can create community wealth and economic mobility while expanding access to housing, workforce development, entrepreneurship, healthcare, food access, and cultural opportunity. This initiative is poised to catalyze over $1B of investment and create 700 jobs.
Anna serves as a Trustee of The Kresge Foundation and is on the Investment Committee and Social Investment Committee. She is a trustee of Casey Family Programs, where she chairs both the Investment Committee and the Audit Committee. Anna is also a Trustee of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund and the RISC Family Foundation. Across these roles, she helps oversee nearly $10 billion dollars in institutional assets while shaping governance, investment strategy, and the responsible deployment of capital in support of long-term institutional missions.
Previously, Anna served as Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Choate Rosemary Hall and as an Investment Officer at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where she managed private capital investments and helped build one of the nation's leading mission-aligned investment portfolios. Her investment experience spans private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, real assets, public markets, and innovative approaches to mission aligned investing
Anna has been recognized nationally for her leadership in institutional investing and governance. She was named to Blueprint Capital Advisors’ 2026 Power 100 Allocators, received The Unlocked Foundation and Tiffany & Co.’s Catalyst for Inclusive Capital Award, and was nominated for Pensions & Investments' 2026 Influential Women in Institutional Investing.
Anna earned both her Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and her MBA from Yale School of Management. She is a Trustee and Investment Committee member of Yale University’s Dwight Hall and is a Fellow of Ezra Stiles at Yale University.