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Individual and institutional investors in the U.S. have well over $2 trillion invested in making money and making a difference. Dual purpose investing -- where money works to earn competitive returns while building a more sustainable future, goes by a litany of names such as socially responsible investing, ethical investing, sustainable investing, mission-based investing, and green investing. You can learn more about the diverse range of sustainable investment solutions available today and find a knowledgeable investment advisor on the First Affirmative website. 12.09

The SRI in the Rockies Conference organizers are delighted to welcome the following featured speakers to our 18th annual event. You may browse the speakers below, listed by order they will appear at the conference.

We appreciate the contribution that these and all of our speakers make toward a successful conference!

Joseph Garcia Indian Country Renaissance: Self-Reliance in Action
Saturday, November 3, 2007, 8:00 PM
Joseph Garcia is the Chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC), formed in 1598, which serves the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. He also serves as President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the largest national Indian organization, representing over 250 member Tribal Nations from throughout the United States. Born and raised in Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo), Mr. Garcia continues to serve his community in traditional, educational, tribal government, and economic development efforts. He recently completed his third term as Governor of the San Juan Pueblo in northern New Mexico. In June 2003, Mr. Garcia retired as an electrical engineer from Los Alamos National Laboratory after 25 years of service. At that time, he started his own firm, MistyLake Consulting Services. He has taught numerous courses in computers, electronics, lasers, and math at the Northern New Mexico Community College since 1979. Mr. Garcia is the recipient of the New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award and the Luminaries Award from the New Mexico Community Foundation. On January 1, 2007, Mr. Garcia swore-in Governor Bill Richardson as the Governor of New Mexico. Back To Top

Richard Sandor PhDAcid Rain and Global Warming: Using Markets to Solve Environmental Problems and Create Wealth
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 8:15 AM
Richard L. Sandor, PhD is Chairman and CEO of the Chicago Climate Exchange, the world?s first multi-national and multi-sector marketplace for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002, he was chosen by Time magazine as one of its "Heroes for the Planet" for his work in creating the Chicago Climate Exchange. In 2005, he was named by Treasury and Risk Management magazine as one of the ?100 Most Influential People in Finance.? Widely recognized as a founder of the interest rate derivatives markets now traded worldwide, Dr. Sandor has held a variety of senior executive positions in the financial services industry at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Kidder Peabody, and Banque Indosuez. He has served on numerous committees and boards including the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE), and the International Advisory Board of the March? ? Terme (MATIF). Dr. Sandor currently serves as a director of American Electric Power and the Intercontinental Exchange. He is also a member of the design committee of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Back To Top

Luther M. Ragin, Jr. Community Investing Today: Market Rate Opportunities Across Asset Classes
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 9:00 AM
Luther M. Ragin, Jr. is Vice President for Investments at The F.B. Heron Foundation. Prior to joining the $300 million Heron Foundation in 1999, Mr. Ragin was the Chief Financial Officer of the National Community Capital Association, a trade association of community development financial institutions that provide access to capital in low-income communities. Other significant experience includes eight years as Chief Financial Officer of Earl G. Graves, Ltd., and seven years with Chase Manhattan Bank, including three years as Vice President of Syndications/Assets Sales for the North American Corporate Finance Sector. Mr. Ragin holds a BA and Master of Public Policy from Harvard, and is a graduate of Columbia University's Executive Program in Business Administration. He is a current or former board member of several nonprofit organizations, including ABFE (A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities), The Classical Theatre of Harlem, National Community Investment Fund, and the Thembani International Guarantee Fund. Back To Top

Amy Muska O'Brien Community Investing Today: Market Rate Opportunities Across Asset Classes
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 9:00 AM
Amy Muska O'Brien is Director, Global Social & Community Investing at TIAA-CREF. She oversees the social screening of funds such as the CREF Social Choice Account, and acts as liaison to participants and other stakeholders in connection with the company's social- and community-focused investments. She also provides leadership to the company on emerging social responsibility and community investment issues. Ms. O'Brien has more than a decade of professional social investment experience, and currently serves as a director of the Social Investment Forum. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF in 2005, she was Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at the Pension Boards - United Church of Christ, where she developed and implemented socially responsible investment strategies including social screening policies, proxy voting guidelines, and shareholder advocacy initiatives. Previously, she was Research Manager at the Council on Economic Priorities, the non-profit research firm that pioneered the field of corporate social and environmental responsibility ratings for investors and consumers. Ms. O'Brien earned a B.S. from Boston College and an M.S. in Environmental Management and Policy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Back To Top

Deborah J. La Franchi Community Investing Today: Market Rate Opportunities Across Asset Classes
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 9:00 AM
Deborah J. La Franchi is founder and CEO of Strategic Development Solutions (SDS ? www.sdsgroup.com) which develops innovative market-driven approaches to economic development. SDS has built and capitalized more than $2 billion of double and triple bottom line private-equity funds. SDS and Economic Innovation International jointly manage the National New Markets Fund which has invested $25 million of New Markets Tax Credits into Hurricane Katrina impacted real estate developments. During the past four years, SDS has secured $14 million in grants for nonprofit clients serving high-poverty communities. Strategic Development Investments, an SDS subsidiary, manages two public equity stock portfolios (a large cap domestic and an international fund) that seek to outperform their respective benchmarks while meeting social and environmental criteria. Prior to SDS, Ms. La Franchi was the first President/CEO of Genesis LA, a nonprofit with six funds ($450 million) targeting low-income communities. She served as Assistant Deputy Mayor for Economic Development under Los Angeles Mayor, Richard Riordan. She holds BA and MBA degrees from UCLA and earned an MPP at Georgetown. She serves as a Big Sister mentor and was formerly a Board Member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. She has served on the LA City Workforce Investment Board and Business Tax Advisory Committee. She co-authored the Double Bottom Line Handbook funded by the Ford Foundation. Back To Top

Rebecca L. Adamson Challenges and Opportunities in Indian Country, and Indigenous Communities Around the World
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 5:00 PM
Rebecca L. Adamson is the Founder & President of First Peoples Worldwide. Adamson also founded First Nations Development Institute. She has been an advocate for Native Americans, working directly with tribal communities and nationally as an advocate for culturally appropriate development and legislation establishing new standards of accountability. Ms. Adamson is also active internationally, working to get the World Bank to create the Global Indigenous Peoples? Facility Fund. She is the author of many articles and papers, including The Color of Wealth ? The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide,? a book co-authored by United for a Fair Economy. Back To Top

Claudine Schneider Opportunities and Risks of Climate Change: How Investors Can Help Move the Mountain
Monday, November 5, 2007, 8:30 AM
Former U.S. Congresswoman, Claudine Schneider, is a citizen activist, policy maker, businesswoman, and consultant. She currently serves as President of the Solar Alliance, an alliance of the world's largest solar manufacturers, installers, and integrators. Having founded two nonprofit Environmental Organizations while still in her 20s, in 1980, Ms. Schneider was the first woman ever elected to any major political office in the state of Rhode Island. Her decade in the U.S. House of Representatives was marked by successful passage of numerous bills that addressed environmental issues, economic equity for women, and international affairs. She authored the first and only revenue neutral Global Warming Prevention Act in 1988. Ms. Schneider has taught Leadership at the J.F.K. School at Harvard. As a consultant to the EPA Climate Leaders Program, she has persuaded more than 40 Fortune 500 companies to commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. She is a director of the Wilder Hill New Energy Global Innovation Index, and serves on the boards of the non-profit Climate Institute, the American Solar Energy Society, the Center for Resource Solutions, and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. Back To Top

Joe Keefe Executive Roundtable: Divergent Views on Industry Trends
Monday, November 5, 2007, 9:15 AM
Joseph F. Keefe is President and Chief Executive Officer of Pax World Management Corporation and of Pax World Funds. Before entering the social investment field, Mr. Keefe was in private law practice for 16 years. From 1997 to 2000 he was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Citizens Advisers, investment advisor to Citizens Funds. Prior to joining Pax World, Mr. Keefe was President of NewCircle Communications, a strategic consulting and communications firm where, from 2003 to 2005, he served as Senior Adviser for Strategic Social Policy at Calvert. A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law, Mr. Keefe served for six years as a director of the Social Investment Forum. Mr. Keefe is a former Democratic Nominee for United States Congress in New Hampshire's First Congressional District, and a former Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. He serves as Co-Chair of ONE Vote '08, a voter education project of the ONE Campaign, focusing on persuading U.S. presidential candidates to make the eradication of global poverty and AIDS top priorities of the next administration. He is also Co-Chair of the Carbon Coalition, a New Hampshire-based citizens group working on solutions to climate change. Back To Top

Francis G. Coleman Executive Roundtable: Divergent Views on Industry Trends
Monday, November 5, 2007, 9:15 AM
Francis G. Coleman is Executive Vice President for Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. (CBIS) which manages over $4 billion for more than 1,000 Catholic institutions worldwide. Mr. Coleman is responsible for overseeing the Information Technology, Marketing, Communications and Socially Responsible Investing departments at CBIS. During his tenure t CBIS, he has been Director of Socially Responsible Investing, Director of Marketing and Participant Services and Director of Participant Services and Operations. As Vice President and Director of SRI, he was responsible for incorporating ethical standards into investments and developing a policy and approach for CBIS that reflects the Church''s broad concerns in an effort to impact corporations. He serves as a director of the Social Investment Forum and the IRRC Institute, and is Chair of the Board of Partners for the Common Good, a community-investing program sponsored by CBIS. He formerly served on the Board of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility. He is a member of the Social Venture Network, is on the Board of the Montessori School of Syracuse, and served a nine-year term on the Board of the Leviticus Fund. Mr. Coleman holds a B.A. from Columbia University. Back To Top

Aron Cramer Executive Roundtable: Divergent Views on Industry Trends
Monday, November 5, 2007, 9:15 AM
Aron Cramer is President and CEO of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR ? www.bsr.org), a non-profit business association dedicated to building a just and sustainable economy by working with business, including its network of Global 1000 member companies. Mr. Cramer joined BSR in 1995, and served as the founding director of BSR's Business and Human Rights Program. Prior to assuming leadership of BSR in 2004, he was based in Paris, where he launched BSR's Europe office in 2002. Mr. Cramer has worked closely with BSR member companies in numerous industry sectors, providing advice and counsel on the full spectrum of social and environmental issues. He also has provided support and counsel on many leading corporate responsibility initiatives in recent years, and he has worked extensively with public agencies and NGOs to advance sustainable business practices. Prior to joining BSR, Mr. Cramer was an attorney in private practice in San Francisco, and at ABC News in New York. He is a graduate of Tufts University, and obtained his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Back To Top

Julie Hudson Executive Roundtable: Divergent Views on Industry Trends
Monday, November 5, 2007, 9:15 AM
Julie Hudson heads the socially responsible investment team in UBS Investment Research. Before assuming this role, she headed the customized research team, having been a senior member of the global sector strategy team since 1998. Prior to that, she was responsible for Asian funds research at UBS. Her 20 years of market experience encompasses global sectors, Japan, Asia, equities, and equity derivatives. She holds a BA from Oxford University, an MBA from City University Business School (now CASS), an MSc in financial economics from London University and, most recently, an MSc in economic regulation and competition from City University. Publication: The Social Responsibility of the Investment Profession, Research Foundation of CFA Institute, August 2006. Back To Top

Phil Angelides The Green Industrial Revolution
Monday, November 5, 2007, 5:00 PM
Phil Angelides is President and owner of Riverview Capital Investments. He has had a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors. Prior to serving as California State Treasurer from 1999 to 2007, Mr. Angelides built his own investment and management business and earned a reputation for economic success and innovation. During his eight years in elected office, he transformed the State Treasurer's Office into a force for progress. The Associated Press reported that he made "the sleepy treasurer's office a policy powerhouse," and The Sacramento Bee praised him as "the most effective and dynamic state treasurer in a generation." As State Treasurer, Mr. Angelides served as a trustee for California's two major pension funds with combined assets of nearly $400 billion, managed the state's $57 billion investment fund, and financed over $150 billion in schools, transportation, parks and other public projects. Through his Green Wave initiative, he put the weight of the state's pension funds behind investment in environmental technology and the fight against global warming, seeding the "green-tech" investment revolution. Mr. Angelides is a graduate of Harvard University and a Coro Foundation Fellow. Back To Top

Winston H. Hickox The Green Industrial Revolution
Monday, November 5, 2007, 5:00 PM
Winston H. Hickox is Chair of the California Market Advisory Committee which supports the implementation of the state's first-in-the-nation comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction program. As a former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Hickox was instrumental in the enactment of legislation requiring new greenhouse gas emission standards for cars. He also established the Environmental Protection Indicators for California, and led the implementation of Environmental Justice legislation in California. Since July of 2004, Mr. Hickox has been employed by CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, as a Senior Portfolio Manager. He has assisted with the design and implementation of a series of Environmental Investment Initiatives, including investments in clean technology, and other investment initiatives focused on the impacts of climate change. He serves on the Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System Board, as well as the Boards of the California League of Conservation Voters, Audubon California, and the Sustainable Conservation Boards. Back To Top