The Yale Economic Development Symposium is an annual student-run conference at the Yale School of Management that brings together senior thought leaders, practitioners, and investors from academia, government, NGOs, and the private sector to discuss the latest issues in economic development. Join us March 28th!
The 2025 Yale Economic Development Symposium will highlight impact, ranging from international emerging market development finance to U.S. Federal investment into capacity building an economic resilience. Our goal is give the audience a clear understanding of the challenges and the work that is being done to achieve economic resilience in the US and abroad.
This Symposium will dovetail with events from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on “What’s Possible,” a convening on climate and economic resilience taking place the day before.
Our keynote, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya from the United Nations Capital Development Fund, will share his experience at the intersection of building both financial and climate resilience throughout his career. Our panels will dive deeper into the Opportunities and Challenges of Finance in Emerging Markets, and Leveraging Federal Funding for Regional Economic Development. We will additionally have a hands-on workshop for interest in blended finance from the UNCDF.
Please stay to join us for receptions before and after the Symposium.
This Symposium is made possible by the generous support of the Charlotte Foundation and the Sidney Gross Memorial Community Economic Development Fund
This year’s symposium is also partnering with the Federal Reserve’s event What’s Possible: Investing NOW for Prosperous, Sustainable Neighborhoods in Connecticut. This event is free and open to the public, and we will host a join reception the evening of Thursday 3/27. All Symposium attendees are invited to attend! Please register below.
2025 Keynote Speaker
Pardeep Kurukulasuriya
Pradeep Kurukulasuriya is the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund. He is a Sri Lankan economist with a PhD from Yale University in the United States. Prior to joining UNCDF, Pradeep was the Executive Coordinator of Environment Finance at UNDP where he oversaw a US$ 5 billion environment, climate and energy portfolio across 140 countries and provided strategic leadership of partnerships with multilateral environment and climate funds, as well as with the private sector, development banks, and private equity.
