JohnOShaugnessyGoestoWashington-Franciscan.PDFVIP

Mr. O’Shaughnessy Goes to Washington On Wednesday, June 25, 2014, FSM Chief Financial Officer John O’Shaughnessy attended a special White House Roundtable on Impact Investing. At the invitation of Jonathan Greenblatt, Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, John described how the Franciscan Sisters of Mary have begun investing in the efforts of social entrepreneurs and businesses that further the FSM mission and values in the area of energy and environment. Here is John’s account of his day in Washington, DC. It was 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 25, 2014. I had arrived. Before me was the small enclosed security outpost on the western end of the White House grounds. Behind that was the awe-inspiring Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) where most of the White House staff work and perform their daily functions in support of the executive branch of the federal government. The sun was warm and the air moist. My nine city-block walk was alive with pedestrian and street traffic. I passed K Street, a renowned business thoroughfare lined by buildings strategically populated by think tanks, advocacy groups and—most notably—very high-priced lobbyists. The closer I moved toward the White House, the more I felt the “feel” of the City—a palpable buzz as if created by an energy grid pulsing below the pavement. Things happen in this place. A small line of visitors had formed at the outpost. At the window I slipped my driver’s license through the slot to the uniformed man on the other side of the thick window. He took it, peered at the photo, peered at me, then checked my personal information with the paper on his clipboard. Without a word he passed my ID back through the slot along with a green badge. As I looped the chained badge around my neck, I knew full well that removing the