The Gift of Opportunity

An important part of making it big in any area of life is remembering where you came from. For Debbie Cafaro, CEO of Ventas, Inc., those memories were vivid, and giving back was the best way to pay forward all that she had been gifted by being able to attend law school. The child of first generation Americans, Cafaro was all too aware of the sacrifices her parents made to send her to college (the first member of her family to have that opportunity), and her time at the University of Chicago Law School changed her life by exposing her to people, experiences, and an education that many others with similar backgrounds often miss out on. That education and exposure produced a successful lawyer who transitioned into the business world and became chairman of the largest senior housing and healthcare real estate investment trust in the country.

Honoring her journey, Cafaro has gifted $4 million to the University of Chicago Law School to provide full tuition scholarships, which will allow 22 working and middle class students over the next nine years to graduate from law school debt-free. Cafaro is sure that the students awarded these scholarships will benefit as much as she did from the overall experience, but also points out that, “They will add immeasurably to the educational and social dynamics at the Law School,” much like she did in her time there. In addition to all that she took from the experience, it is worth noting all the ways she impacted others during her time in law school and has continued to do so since then. As Dean Michael Schill put it, “What is especially exciting about the Cafaro Scholarship program is that it will make possible the creation of a new generation of Debbie Cafaros. We will all be better for that.” It certainly sounds that way.

And of course, this brings us back again to our old friend the triple bottom line. How perfect when doing well allows and inspires us to do good, not just for one or two people, but for a community and our profession as a whole. That is truly a win-win-win.

What can you or your firm pay forward to enable a new generation of amazing lawyers? Sound off below.