Plenary Speakers
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The SRI in the Rockies Conference organizers are delighted to welcome
the following featured speakers to our 19th annual event. You may browse
the speakers below, listed in the order they will appear at the conference.
We appreciate the contribution that these and all of our speakers make toward a successful conference!
Stephen Lewis Where in the World is the World Headed?
Sunday, October 26, 2008, 7:45 PM
Stephen Lewis
Formerly Canada's Ambassador to the UN, Stephen Lewis' work with the United Nations spanned more than two decades. He has served as the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and as Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. He is currently co-Director of AIDS-Free World, a new international AIDS advocacy organization, based in the United States (www.aids-freeworld.org), a Professor in Global Health, Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and a Senior Advisor to the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York.
Mr. Lewis holds 28 honorary degrees from Canadian universities and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, that country's highest honour for lifetime achievement. He is co-chair of the Leadership Programme Committee for the XVII International AIDS Conference (Mexico City, August 2008). He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and is the chair of the board of the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Canada (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org). In 2006, Mr. Lewis' best-selling book, Race Against Time won the Canadian Booksellers Association's Libris Award for non-fiction book of the year.
Special thanks to Voyageur Asset Management for their support in securing Stephen Lewis as our Opening Plenary speaker! Photo (c) Kellan Higgins Back To Top
Jennifer James PhDCultural Intelligence: The Adaptive Leader
Monday, October 27, 2008, 8:15 AM
Dr. Jennifer James is an Urban Cultural Anthropologist. A specialist in the cultural elements of technological change and marketing intelligence, her unique background in history, psychology, and anthropology has made her one of the most sought after women speakers in the world. She works extensively with boards and high-level executive groups on strategic planning and international problem solving.
A former at the University of Washington Medical School, Dr. James has published seven books, numerous academic articles and wrote a newspaper column for the Seattle Times for 18 years. Her most recent book is Thinking In The Future Tense. She is currently completing a new book, Cultural Intelligence. She is the founder of the Committee for Children, a nonprofit organization that for 25 years has developed curriculums for the protection of children and the development of alternatives to violence. These curriculums are taught in every state in the U.S. and in 38 other countries. Back To Top
Monday, October 27, 2008, 9:05 AM
Ken Melamed is Mayor of the Resort Municipality of Whistler. As Mayor, he works to implement Whistler's long-term sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, which he helped to develop, and directs Whistler's planning for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mr. Melamed arrived in Whistler in February 1976 and fell in love with the mountains and the small community of Whistler. He started as a lift operator and became a professional ski patroller in 1977, a position he still holds today. He worked in construction in the off-season and, 10 years later, started his own artisian-oriented contracting business, Ken Melamed Stoneworks, creating much of the beautiful rock walls throughout the valley.
In 1989, Mr. Melamed helped initiate Whistler's grassroots, citizen environmental organization, AWARE, serving as president for six years between 1990 and 1996. He was also a founding director of Smart Growth BC. He successfully ran for Council in November 1996 and served three terms as councillor before being elected Mayor in 2005. He serves on numerous boards and community committees, including Tourism Whistler, Fraser Basin Council, and American Friends of Whistler.
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Linda Coady A Natural Step for the 2010 Winter Games
Monday, October 27, 2008, 9:05 AM
Linda Coady is Vice President, Sustainability of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Olympic Movement was founded on the two pillars of Sport and Culture. In 1994 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made Environment the third pillar of the Olympic Movement. Ms. Coady manages a project portfolio at VANOC that includes climate change, inner city inclusion, ethical purchasing, and public reporting on VANOC's performance on all of its sustainability commitments.
Prior to joining VANOC, Ms. Coady was Vice President, Pacific Region for World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada. A 20-year veteran of the B.C. forest industry, she has served as a Vice President of environment for both MacMillan Bloedel and Weyerhaeuser's B.C. coastal operations. Working with environmental groups, First Nations, government, and community representatives, she helped lead a series of collaborative initiatives that reduced conflict and promoted more ecosystem-based approaches to land use. Back To Top
Matt Christensen International SIF Leaders: Building a Global Industry
Monday, October 27, 2008, 1:00 PM
Matt Christensen is Executive Director of Eurosif which addresses sustainability issues through financial markets on behalf of its Member Affiliates in western Europe. Recent activities of Eurosif include its EU SRI Market Study, Venture Capital and Sustainability Report, and successful submissions to the EU asking for improved transparency on environmental/social/governance issues by companies and funds. Eurosif members include leading financial service institutions that together represent assets totaling over 600 billion euros. Mr. Christensen is also a member of the European Commission Coordination Committee to explore the evolution of sustainability in the EU. Before taking the lead at Eurosif in 2002, Mr. Christian was a European Director at The Motley Fool, a leading publisher of information on personal finance and investing. Prior to that, he advised FTSE 100 clients as a strategy consultant with Braxton Associates based in London and Paris. He is a Non-Executive Director to various investment funds and holds masters degrees from Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania. Back To Top
Eugene Ellmen International SIF Leaders: Building a Global Industry
Monday, October 27, 2008, 1:00 PM
Since 1999, Eugene Ellmen has served as Executive Director of the Social Investment Organization, Canada's national association for socially responsible investment (SRI). He is one of Canada's leading experts on SRI. Author of the critically acclaimed Canadian Ethical Money Guide, he has an extensive background in journalism, and in communications and public affairs with the financial industry, government and in private consulting.
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Melissa Brown International SIF Leaders: Building a Global Industry
Monday, October 27, 2008, 1:00 PM
Melissa Brown is the Executive Director of the Association of Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA). A not-for-profit membership association focused on environmental, social, and governance issues shaping investment and financial market development in Asia, ASrIA membership includes a cross-section of global and Asia-based fund managers, financial institutions, companies, and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining ASrIA in 2003, Ms. Brown was a Managing Director and Deputy Head of Asian Equity Research at Citigroup/Smith Barney. She has 15 years of experience in equity research in Asia. During that period she covered the Asian power sector and markets ranging from South Korea to India. In addition to her work at ASrIA, she is part of UNEP FI's Asia Pacific Outreach Group and is a member of both the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's Listing Committee and the Securities and Futures Commission's Public Shareholders Group. She has a BA in Economics from Williams College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Back To Top
Lisa Woll International SIF Leaders: Building a Global Industry
Monday, October 27, 2008, 1:00 PM
Lisa Woll is CEO of the Social Investment Forum (SIF), the non-profit trade association for the socially responsible investment industry in the U.S. Prior to SIF, Ms. Woll was Executive Director of the International Women's Media Foundation. She has extensive experience in international and domestic social policy, and has worked extensively around the globe on human rights issues, particularly children's human rights. She was the director of the first international study to look at the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and directed the Washington, DC office of Save the Children. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. She is also Board President of Women's Voices for the Earth, and a Senior Fellow with the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) Civic Leadership program. Ms. Woll is the founder of Suited for Change, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that provides professional clothing and ongoing career education to low-income women who have completed job training programs and are seeking employment. In 2001, she was named a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine in recognition of her pioneering role with Suited for Change. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in public policy and women's studies from George Washington University. Back To Top
David Brancaccio CEO Roundtable: Views from the Top on Industry Trends
Monday, October 27, 2008, 5:00 PM
Millions of public television viewers across America tune in each week to watch David Brancaccio bring clarity to the most complex social, political, and business issues of our time. As host, senior editor and reporter at NOW on PBS, Brancaccio and his team focus on human rights, the environment, politics, economics, and SRI. In 2007, NOW's coverage of a social enterprise providing health care in Kenya won an Emmy for business reporting. In 2008, the program received an Edward R. Murrow award for reporting on the global problem of child marriage. Brancaccio was the long-time host of public radio's business program Marketplace, and has been a broadcaster for 32 years. He is author of a book about money and values entitled Squandering Aimlessly, which features a chapter on the 1996 SRI in the Rockies conference. Back To Top
Barbara Krumsiek CEO Roundtable: Views from the Top on Industry Trends
Monday, October 27, 2008, 5:00 PM
Barbara Krumsiek is Chair & CEO of Calvert, a $16 billion investment firm. Previously, she was with Alliance Capital. Ms. Krumsiek served as 2007 Chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. She is on the board of PEPCO Holdings, Inc. and is Vice-Chair of the Meyer Foundation. Graduating with honors in math from Rutgers, she earned an MS from NYU. In 2002 Georgetown awarded her an Honorary Doctorate. Back To Top
Sarah Forrest PhDCEO Roundtable: Views from the Top on Industry Trends
Monday, October 27, 2008, 5:00 PM
Sarah Forrest leads the GS SUSTAIN Research team at Goldman Sachs after starting the initiative to analyse the sustainability of corporate performance in January 2005. She joined the firm in 2003 to work with Anthony Ling in the Energy Equity Research team. Sarah received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge in 2004, having graduated from The University of Queensland, Australia, in 1998 with a combined Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Economics degree.
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Jack Robinson CEO Roundtable: Views from the Top on Industry Trends
Monday, October 27, 2008, 5:00 PM
Jack Robinson is a pioneer of green investing. After building a successful career in equity research and portfolio management at Prudential Bache, Mr. Robinson founded Winslow Management Company in 1983, one of the first companies in the U.S. that sought to demonstrate that an environmentally-focused investment strategy could outperform the market over full market cycles. The firm offers its investment services through the Winslow Green Mutual Funds, as well as separately managed accounts. Under Mr. Robinson's leadership, Winslow has developed a unique growth investment style that focuses on the leaders and innovators within the rapidly-growing green economy.
A frequent speaker and media source on the topic of green investing, Mr. Robinson is interviewed regularly by CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and many other national news and financial publications. He serves on the Board of Directors of Spartech Corporation, as a director of the Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC, and as a Trustee and Chairman of the Investment Committee of Suffield Academy. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the American Council for Renewable Energy (ACORE).
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Ross McMillan From Conflict to Collaboration: A New Model for Sustainability in the Great Bear Rainforest
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 8:30 AM
Ross McMillan is the President and CEO of Tides Canada Foundation. He has worked with Tides since 2001, leading projects and managing key relationships with the Canadian environmental community and consortiums of donors, institutional partners, and international philanthropic foundations. He has over 25 years experience in the not-for-profit, public, and private sectors.
Mr. McMillan was a principal architect of the conservation financing package to support the Great Bear Rainforest initiative, one of the most significant conservation programs in North American history. Back To Top
Valerie Langer From Conflict to Collaboration: A New Model for Sustainability in the Great Bear Rainforest
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 8:30 AM
Valerie Langer is the Director of BC Coast Campaigns for ForestEthics. She has been engaged in forest conservation campaigns for twenty years working as the forest campaigner for Friends of Clayoquot Sound from 1988 to 2004 and joining ForestEthics in 2006. She pioneered the market campaign strategy of influencing logging companies practices by engaging their commercial customer base and is now working to realize the globally unique model of conservation promised through the Great Bear Rainforest agreements. Back To Top
Reynold Hert From Conflict to Collaboration: A New Model for Sustainability in the Great Bear Rainforest
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 8:30 AM
Mr. Hert was appointed President, CEO and Director of Western Forest Products Inc. on October 4, 2004. Prior to that he had spent 12 years with Weyerhaeuser in various roles, most recently in Kamloops, B.C., as Vice President, Canadian Forestlands and previously as Vice President, Canadian SPF Lumber. Mr. Hert joined Weyerhaeuser as part of the acquisition of Proctor & Gamble's Grande Prairie assets. He managed the Grande Prairie sawmill at the time. Mr. Hert started in the Canadian forest industry while a forestry student at the University of Toronto, working in timber cruising in Ontario and Alberta. Mr. Hert has a Bachelor of Science Degree (Forestry) from the University of Toronto. Back To Top
Art Sterritt From Conflict to Collaboration: A New Model for Sustainability in the Great Bear Rainforest
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 8:30 AM
Art Sterritt is the Executive Director of the Coastal First Nations, an alliance of First Nations on British Columbia's North and Central Coast and Haida Gwaii working together to develop and implement regional conservation-based economic strategies in forestry, fisheries, and tourism in British Columbia. He was a founding Commissioner for the B.C. Treaty Commission, an independent and neutral body responsible for facilitating treaty negotiations between Canada, British Columbia and First Nations in B.C.
Mr. Sterritt is a member of the Gitga?at First Nation and has served as the chief negotiator for the Gitga?at First Nation for the past 10 years. During this time he negotiated economic measures, agreements with governments, as well as developed strong relationships and partnerships with industry that has led to economic opportunities in his community. Mr. Sterritt has more than 30 years of experience in the areas of Aboriginal Rights and Title, as well as self-government and community economic development. He is also a well-known carver (wood, stone and jewelry) in B.C. and Canada. His work can be found in museums and private collections throughout North America.
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Kenneth G. Lay JDBanker's Reach: The Continued Evolution of Sustainable Finance
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 9:15 AM
Kenneth G Lay is the Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank. He leads the teams of finance professionals that manage more than $70 billion in reserves and other funds for the World Bank and other official-sector investors. Mr. Lay is responsible for carrying out the World Bank's financing program in international and domestic bond and derivatives markets, conducting asset and liability management for the World Bank's balance sheet, overseeing development and outreach related to the financing and hedging products the Bank provides for its developing-country clients, and collaborating with World Bank member countries to help build their capacity in public debt and national wealth management.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Lay served as director of the World Bank's operations in several countries in Southeastern Europe and as head of its financial sector practice. Prior to joining the World Bank in 1982, he was an enforcement lawyer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, heading its branch of corporation finance enforcement. Mr. Lay is a member of the State Bar of California and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute. He received a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from George Washington University law school. Back To Top
Michael Jantzi Banker's Reach: The Continued Evolution of Sustainable Finance
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 9:15 AM
Michael Jantzi is President and Founder of Jantzi Research. He has been active in the social investment field since 1990. He is one of Canada's leading spokespersons on SRI and is the co-author of The 50 Best Ethical Stocks for Canadians: High Value Investing. In recognition of his significant contribution to corporate social responsibility and social investment in Canada, Mr. Jantzi was the recipient of an Ethics in Action Award in June 2001. In 2006, Jantzi Research won the Capital Markets Award for Sustainable Investment & Banking, awarded by the GLOBE Foundation and The Globe and Mail as part of the prestigious GLOBE Awards for Environmental Excellence program. Mr. Jantzi has served as a director of KLD Research & Analytics, was appointed to the Task Force of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy's Capital Markets and Sustainability program. He sits on the Advisory Circle of the TIDES Canada Foundation. He is a former director of Canada's Social Investment Organization. Mr. Jantzi holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario and Dalhousie University. Back To Top
Michelle Chan Banker's Reach: The Continued Evolution of Sustainable Finance
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 9:15 AM
Michelle Chan is Program Manager of the Green Investments Project for Friends of the Earth and President of BankTrack. She has 13 years of experience in sustainable finance and bringing environmental advocacy to Wall Street. The Green Investments project engages in shareholder activism, promotes corporate environmental disclosure, and works with major financial institutions to develop environmental management systems. Recently, she has begun focusing on Chinese overseas investment, and in 2007 authored a report on the Chinese banking sector. BankTrack is an international NGO advocacy network dedicated to advancing sustainability in the finance sector.
Ms Chan founded the Corporate Sunshine Working Group, an alliance of investors and environmentalists working for improved corporate social disclosure requirements at the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has served on the Board of CERES, the Council for Responsible Public Investment, and the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. She is a founding member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Advisory Committee, and received the industry?s SRI Service Award in 2002. She has degrees in Economics, Development Studies and Geography from University of California at Los Angeles.
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Sandra Odendahl Banker's Reach: The Continued Evolution of Sustainable Finance
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 9:15 AM
Sandra Odendahl, CFA, is Director of Corporate Environmental Affairs at RBC Financial Group (Royal Bank of Canada), where she leads a team with responsibility for corporate environmental strategy, environmental credit risk policies, and corporate environmental programs at the bank.
Ms. Odendahl has chaired the North American Task Force of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) since January 2006. She was formerly the Co-Chair of the Conference Board's Business Council on Sustainability, and was a member of the Commodities Research Advisory Panel for the Conference Board's "Canada Project." She is on the Advisory Board of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, and the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy.
Prior to entering the banking sector, Ms. Odehdahl was an environmental consultant in Toronto and Vancouver, specializing in Environmental Impact Assessments for resource sector development projects in Canada and Indonesia. She has a B.A.Sc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Ottawa, and an M.A.Sc. in the same field from University of Toronto. Back To Top
Richard Russell Innovations in Philanthropy: A Tipping Point for Mission Related Investing?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 5:00 PM
Richard Russell serves as Board President of The Russell Family Foundation. He is the eldest son of George and Jane Russell, former owners of Russell Investments, creator of the Russell Index. He lead The Russell Family Foundation in an exploration of mission-related investing in 2004. In 2006, the Foundation dedicated 5% of its assets to MRI. The Foundation employs an array of MRI tactics including screened funds, equity investing, proxy voting, community banking and program related investments. The Foundation is a signatory to the Carbon Disclosure Project, Investor Network on Climate Risk, and 2% for Mission Campaign.
Mr. Russell is a Seattle-based communications facilitator, media producer, fine artist, and musician. He is a Stanford University graduate, with additional training with the Grove Consultants International (pioneers in the use of graphic language in business situations).
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David Chen Innovations in Philanthropy: A Tipping Point for Mission Related Investing?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 5:00 PM
Dave Chen is the founder of Equilibrium Capital Group LLC, an investment firm committed to building the leading companies for a sustainable future. Mr. Chen's focus on sustainability is a result of his work in the areas of economic development policy and energy policy, and as a venture capital investor.
Mr. Chen is one of the most well known venture capitalists in Oregon. He was a managing partner of OVP Venture Partners. He currently serves as a Board Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Portland Branch, is the Governor-Appointed Chairman of the Oregon Innovation Council, Chairman of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), Advisory Board Member of the Oregon Investment Fund (OIF), Advisory Board of the X Prize for Energy & Environment, and past chairman of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum. Prior to joining OVP in 2001, he founded GeoTrust and The Ascent Group, was Vice President Marketing Mentor Graphics, an associate at McKinsey & Co, and an early team member in 1978 at Solectron.
Mr. Chen received his BA in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Back To Top
Leslie Lowe Innovations in Philanthropy: A Tipping Point for Mission Related Investing?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 5:00 PM
Timothy "Scott" Case is a technologist, entrepreneur and inventor and was co-founder of priceline.com, the "Name Your Own Price" Internet service. As Chief Technology Officer, he was responsible for building the technology that enabled priceline.com's hyper-growth. Moving beyond technology he successfully launched several priceline.com businesses. These included Priceline for Gasoline, by far the firm's fastest growing business. At the Walker Digital Invention Laboratory, Scott helped build a portfolio of intellectual property, and is a named inventor on dozens of U.S. patents including the underlying portfolio for priceline.com. Previously, Scott co-founded Precision Training Software, a software company that developed the world's first PC-based simulated flight instructor and photo-realistic flight simulator.
In 2006, Scott joined the Malaria No More team to inspire individuals and institutions in the private sector to end deaths cause by malaria. He also serves as the Chairman of Network for Good (www.NetworkForGood.org), a national nonprofit that has distributed more than $100 million to 20,000 nonprofits. Network for Good provides online fundraising and communications services to over 5,000 nonprofit organizations. Scott continues to build social enterprises that use technology, commercial processes, and incentives to create sustainable, scalable solutions to improve people's lives. Back To Top
Doug Bauer Innovations in Philanthropy: A Tipping Point for Mission Related Investing?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 5:00 PM
Doug Bauer, Senior Vice President. Doug Bauer leads the organization's Strategic Initiatives Team. Prior to joining Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in March 2002, he was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs and President of the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, the firm's charitable giving vehicle. From 1997 to 2000, Doug was Director of Community Partnership at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) and Executive Director of the SmithKline Beecham Foundation, where he focused on community-based health care around the world. From 1992 to 1996, Doug was a Program Officer for Culture at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Doug's opinions and ideas on philanthropy have been featured in the Associated Press, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Contribute, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Post and on CNBC. Doug co-authored, with Steven Godeke, Philanthropy's New Passing Gear: Mission Related Investing, A Policy and Implementation Guide for Foundation Trustees. Doug chairs the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance and the Support Center of Nonprofit Management and serves on boards or committees for the Carbon Disclosure Project (UK), Children's Health Fund and New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (NYRAG). He is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches a course and seminars on philanthropy. Doug is a graduate from Michigan State University. He also holds a M.S. from UPenn and a M.J. from Temple University. Back To Top
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