The SRI in the Rockies Conference organizers are delighted to welcome
the following breakout speakers to our 21st annual event. You may browse
the speakers below, listed alphabetically.
We appreciate the contribution that these and all of our
speakers make toward a successful conference!
Shelley Alpern
Shelley Alpern is Vice President, Director of ESG Research & Shareholder Advocacy at Trillium Asset Management. She engages with companies on a wide range of concerns, including environmental health, climate change, human rights, and equal employment opportunity. Ms. Alpern is the recipient of the 2005 SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) Service Award, which is awarded by peers in the SRI industry, and was recognized by Fortune as one of the 25 most powerful lesbians and gay men in business for her work in promoting sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies. She is also the recipient of the first ever Rachel Carson Advocacy Award from the Silent Spring Institute. Back To Top
Jason Baron
Jason Baron is a vice president and portfolio manager for the Socially Innovative Investing Strategy (S2I) in the investments group within U.S. Trust and has worked for U.S. Trust since 2010. Prior to joining U.S. Trust, he served as the team leader for the community investing group at Lehman Brothers, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of socially responsible and mission-oriented investment products. Mr. Baron began his career as an equity analyst following the diversified financials sector at Keefe Bruyette & Woods in their Hartford, Connecticut office. He is a member of the Hitachi Foundation investment committee.
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Tony Berkley PhD
Tony Berkley is the Deputy Director for the Education & Learning team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and a key member of the Mission-Driven Investments (MDI) team. On the MDI team, he makes mission-aligned and market-rate investments from the Kellogg Foundation Endowment. Dr. Berkley is an anthropologist with 15 years of domestic and international experience in program design, strategic planning, and education research. He has held faculty positions at the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan, and is the author of numerous publications and presentations in the fields of knowledge management, education, and anthropology.
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Bruno Bertocci
Bruno Bertocci is a Senior Portfolio Manager and Managing Director at UBS Global Asset Management. He is a member of the Global Equity team which is responsible for constructing and managing global equity portfolios worldwide. Mr. Bertocci is a member of the Sustainable and Responsible Investments (SRI) team, and the lead portfolio manager on global equity SRI portfolios. Prior to joining UBS Global Asset Management in 1998, he managed the global equity investment group at Stein Roe & Farnham. Previously, his positions included regional portfolio manager and global equity portfolio manager at Rockefeller & Company, and US equity analyst at T. Rowe Price Associates.
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Sanjay Bhatnagar
Sanjay Bhatnagar is the CEO of WaterHealth International (WHI), a US based water company developing decentralized water purification solutions. WHI focuses on providing sustainable community water solutions to underserved populations worldwide. Mr. Bhatnagar is the founder of the THOT Capital Group, a firm active in infrastructure development, asset buy-outs and operations in Europe and the US. THOT Capital also manages a foreign exchange fund. Previously, he was the CEO of Enron Broadband Services for Middle East and Asia, and was responsible for developing Enron's telecommunication businesses in the region. Mr. Bhatnagar has also served as the Chairman and CEO, Enron South Asia where his responsibilities included developing and financing energy infrastructure. Prior to Enron, he worked for Schlumberger, an oil field services company, as an engineer and manager in several countries.
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Danielle Burns AIF
Danielle Burns is Manager of Business Development. She serves as the primary contact for existing and prospective network advisors. Danielle manages the firms Network Member Services program and assists affiliated advisors in understanding and maximizing the value of membership services offered by First Affirmative. She trains new advisors on working with First Affirmative and provides support for all First Affirmative managed account solutions. Additionally, Danielle is responsible for coordination and planning of all BaseCamp SRI Series events.
Prior to joining First Affirmative, Danielle worked as a key member of a premier community bank, Old Harbor Bank, in Clearwater, Florida where she provided marketing, sales and service support. Danielle worked for Wachovia Corporation from 1994-2003. She worked for both Wachovia Bank and Wachovia Securities performing a variety of management duties. Her background emphasizes technology training and development for financial advisers and administrative associates, as well as licensing and compensation.
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Leslie Christian CFA
Leslie E. Christian is President and CEO of Portfolio 21 Investments where she co-founded the firm's global equity mutual fund, Portfolio 21, as well as its Local Economies Income Fund (LEIF). She has led the formation of Upstream 21, a regional holding company committed to acquiring, supporting, and growing small local businesses that want to sell but not "sell out." Previously, Ms. Christian was a consultant at Mercer Investment Consulting, and a fixed income derivatives specialist with Salomon Brothers in New York, among various positions. With Linda Pei, she co-founded the Women's Equity Mutual Fund in 1993 (now Pax World Global Women's Equality Fund).
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Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Cleveland is a senior consultant with Towers Watson Investment Services, located in the Portland, Oregon office. She consults with endowments, foundations, healthcare organizations and corporate retirement plans. Prior to joining Towers Watson, Ms. Cleveland headed the Portland office of Rogerscasey. She has over 20 years experience in economic research and financial services. She has collaborated on sustainable and responsible investment initiatives in the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative and the UN Global Reporting Initiative, served as a Financial Advisor at Wachovia Securities, and was a Fulbright Lecturer in Economics at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.
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Lauren Compere
Lauren Compere is a Managing Director and the Director of Shareholder Advocacy at Boston Common Asset Management, an employee-owned U.S. social investment firm. She has primary responsibility working with Boston Common clients and oversees Boston Common's global shareholder engagement initiatives. She is the Co-Chair of the Emerging Markets Disclosure Project (EMDP) and serves on the Steering Committee of the Social Investment Forum's International Working Group. Ms. Compere previously served as the Co-Chair of the Access to Health Working Group, and the Human Trafficking Sub-Committee at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility where she now sits on the Governing Board.
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Deborah Cundy
Deborah Cundy is Vice President in the Office of the Chairman for Carlson Companies, and co-author with Carlson Chairwoman, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, of the bestselling book, How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a Life of Leadership. Carlson is a global travel and hospitality company operating in 150 countries. Carlson's brands include Radisson Hotels ®, Country Inns & Suites, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and T.G.I. Friday's. During her 20 year affiliation with Carlson, Ms. Cundy has worked on projects involving gender equity, diversity and human rights issues including Carlson's decision to sign the travel industry's Code of Conduct to eliminate the sexual exploitation of children in tourism.
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Ari Derfel
Ari Derfel is the Executive Director of Slow Money, an organization which focuses on four initiatives: building networks, creating new financial products and services, developing educational programs, and designing assessment tools to further the efforts of the Slow Money movement. In addition, Mr. Derfel is co-owner of Gather, the critically acclaimed, all-organic, sustainably designed restaurant in Berkeley, California, and co-founder of Back to Earth Organic Catering, the first organic catering company in the US. He is internationally known for his work on waste and consumerism, and has been featured on numerous print, television, internet and radio media worldwide.
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Tom Dodd CFA, FSA
Thomas Dodd is President of Stratford Advisory Group, Inc., and serves as lead consultant and relationship manager for many Stratford clients. He has primary responsibility for managing the delivery of strategic investment advice to Stratford clients, and is a member of Stratford's Investment Committee. Mr. Dodd joined Stratford in 1994 and has been President since 2003. Previously, Mr. Dodd was a Principal at William M. Mercer Investment Consulting, Inc. He was also an independent futures trader at the Chicago Board of Trade, and a consulting actuary at The Wyatt Company and A.S. Hansen, Inc. He has 37 years of investment and actuarial experience.
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Mark Donohue
Mark Donohue was appointed Babson College's first Clean Technology Entrepreneur-in-Residence in 2008. Babson College is rated number one in sustainability of all U.S. undergraduate programs, by Bloomberg Businessweek, and number one in entrepreneurship studies by many sources. Mr. Donohue's career has focused on socially responsible business and investment, Cleantech investing, and social entrepreneurship. During the last twenty years, he has built three successful investment management and financial service companies. In 2001, Mr. Donohue founded Expansion Capital Partners, LLC, a pioneer fund in the Clean Technology venture capital investing space. Mr. Donohue sold most of his interests in Expansion Capital Partners in June of 2008, and was appointed Chairman Emeritus.
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Rebecca Dunn
Rebecca Dunn has been the Executive Director of the Cooperative Fund of New England since 1986. She has extensive experience as a business consultant and as a commercial bank loan officer, and was formerly a bank examiner for the State of Connecticut. Ms. Dunn has also worked as a consensus process trainer and nonprofit advisor to a number of groups. These include her local food co-op, an urban grocery store project, a symphony orchestra, an artists' collective, and Dance New England. In addition, she helped Wilmington Community Coalition, a diverse organization which served low-income city neighborhoods, form a community loan program.
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Jed Emerson
Jed Emerson is an internationally recognized Thought Leader in sustainability and sustainable finance, impact investing, social entrepreneurship and strategic philanthropy. He has played founder roles with some of the nation's leading venture philanthropy, community venture capital and social enterprises. Mr. Emerson has served as Managing Director for Integrated Performance with Uhuru Capital Management, Senior Fellow with Generation Investment Management Foundation (London/New York), and in various faculty appointments at Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford University Business Schools. As the the originator of the concept of Blended Value, he has advanced new thinking and practice for both mission motivated investors and entrepreneurs launching sustainable, for-profit businesses.
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Marc Fox
Marc Fox leads Goldman Sach's GS Sustain initiative in North America. He joined Goldman Sachs in London in 2005 to help develop GS Sustain, an investment methodology based on analysis of the sustainability of corporate performance. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Fox spent four years in the media and technologies industries in New York. Back To Top
Bennett Freeman
Bennett Freeman manages Calvert's Sustainability Research
Department and oversees its company research and analysis, and its policy and
advocacy work. Previously, he led Burson-Marsteller's Global Corporate
Responsibility practice advising multinationals on policy development,
stakeholder engagement and communications strategies related to human rights,
labor rights and sustainable development. During the Clinton Administration, he
served in the State Department, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor from 1999 to early 2001. Earlier in his
career, he was Manager-Corporate Affairs for General Electric. He is a member of the Council on Foreign
Relations.
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J. Carl Ganter
J. Carl Ganter is director and co-founder of Circle of Blue, the international network of leading journalists, scientists and communications design experts that reports and presents the information necessary to respond to the global water crisis. He is a photojournalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. Mr. Ganter serves on the "Navigating Peace" Working Group, which produces policy papers on global freshwater water policies, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He has been a long-time visiting faculty member at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He has presented at the World Economic Forum and Tallberg Forum, and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.
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George R. Gay CFP, AIF
George Gay is Chief Executive Officer of First
Affirmative Financial Network and chairs the First Affirmative
Investment Committee. George served on the board of directors of the
Social Investment Forum for more than a dozen years, and has produced
and hosted the annual SRI in the Rockies Conference since 1990. He was
the recipient of the industry's 1997 "SRI Service Award."
George earned his Certified Financial Planner
designation in June 1984 and completed a range of securities
examinations covering the practice and supervision of securities
business. He has held Series 24 (Registered Principal), 7 (Registered
Representative), 65 (Uniform Investment Advisor), 53 (Municipal Bond
Principal) and 63 (Uniform Securities Agent) licenses. He earned his
AIF designation (Accredited Investment Fiduciary) in November 2003.
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Anita Green
Anita Green is the Manager of Socially Responsible Investing for the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church. She is responsible for strategic development and implementation of the corporate engagement program for the General Board, which is the largest denominational pension fund in the US with $16 billion in assets. In this role, Ms. Green regularly communicates with corporate management about policies and practices related to environment, social, and governance issues. Anita Green was the 2004 winner of the "SRI Service Award" and in 2000 received the "Making a Difference" award.
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Mike Griffin
Mike Griffin is a Senior Vice President in the KeyBank Community Development Banking group with responsibility for Corporate CRA Compliance and Community Development Asset Management. He joined Key in 1998 as Asset Manager for the bank's portfolio of community development investments. The portfolio is currently $1.3 billion of investments targeted to Key's fourteen footprint states. Mr. Griffin also serves as KeyBank's National CRA Compliance Manager with responsibility for Key's two CRA Exams. Prior to joining KeyBank, he was the Asset Manager for Cleveland Housing Network. In 2010 Mr. Griffin was appointed to a three year term on the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council.
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Jon Hale PhD, CFA
Jon Hale is Managing Consultant with Morningstar Associates, LLC. He is primarily responsible for fund-of-funds management with specialization in international. In addition, he chairs the Investment Committee, is responsible for overseeing Morningstar Associates' team of investment professionals and is on the international team. He came to Morningstar in 1995 as a mutual fund analyst and in 1998 helped launch Institutional Investment Consulting, which later became Morningstar Associates. In 2000 he left to serve on the management team at Domini Social Investments, LLC before rejoining Morningstar Associates in 2001. Prior to joining Morningstar, he taught at several universities. Back To Top
Lisa Hall
Lisa Hall, formerly Calvert Foundation's Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer, serves as the Interim President and CEO of Calvert Foundation until the Board of Directors appoints a permanent one. Ms. Hall, who joined Calvert Foundation in 2005, brings over 20 years of industry experience and has held multiple high-level policy and financial posts. She has also held positions in real estate and community development finance with the Enterprise Foundation, JP Morgan Chase and Travelers Insurance. In 2003, Ms. Hall participated in the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a travel program for emerging leaders from the US and Europe.
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Daniel Hann
Daniel Y. Hann is a doctoral candidate at the Finance Department of Maastricht University's School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands where he pursues his combined interest in financial research and sustainability issues. Mr. Hann currently studies the relevance of corporate environmental and social performance for fixed income investors, and the influence of non-financial stakeholders on financial policy decisions. In addition to his university appointment, he holds a position as a researcher at the European Centre for Corporate Engagement (ECCE), an internationally oriented research consortium devoted to delivering academic and practitioner-oriented research in the fields of corporate engagement and sustainable finance.
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James P. Hawley
James P. Hawley is Professor, School of Economics and Business Administration, and Director of the Elfenworks Center for the Study of Fiduciary Capitalism at Saint Mary's College. He co-authored The Rise of Fiduciary Capitalism: How Institutional Investors can make Corporations more Democratic. Forthcoming is Institutional Investors, Risk/Return Tradeoffs, and Corporate Governance Failures. He has written articles on a variety of topics, including corporate governance, sovereign wealth funds and responsible investment, the 2007-08 financial crisis, the international monetary and financial system, and environmental and sustainability issues, and numerous papers and reports. His current research focus is on corporate governance, financial crises and risk, and institutional investors.
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Bob Helmuth
Bob Helmuth is Senior Vice President, Stakeholder Relations, Pax World Management LLC. He is responsible for maintaining and advancing a wide range of relationships with various stakeholder constituencies including financial advisors across the nation who specialize in sustainable investing. Mr. Helmuth is also responsible for the company's presence at events and conferences, and its work with affinity and non-profit organizations. He is a member of Pax World's Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. Prior to joining Pax World in 2001, Mr. Helmuth served in marketing management positions with companies in the cable television industry, including ESPN, Daniels & Associates, Cablevision Industries and more recently the Starz Media Group.
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Ritu Henningsen
Ritu Henningsen is the Manager of First Affirmative Financial Network Advisor Services Department. Ritu supervises and monitors all of the operational transactions for all of our network advisors and their clients. This includes a broad list of duties including setting up new accounts, processing all incoming and outgoing transfers for Schwab and Foliofn accounts from various third party custodians, and daily account service requests. Additionally, Ritu works closely with Danielle Burns in Business Development to train new network advisors as they begin working with First Affirmative. Prior to working for First Affirmative, Ritu was an Associate Advisor at Colorado Capital Management, Inc. and prior to that did financial planning and portfolio management with the Agile Group, formerly known as Greenberg & Associates. She holds the Series 65 License (Uniform Investment Advisor).
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Joanna Karger
Joanna Karger is the Chief Financial Officer of Renewable Funding LLC. Renewable Funding provides turnkey administration, financing and technology services for clean energy programs to cities and counties across the U.S. Prior to Renewable Funding, she was the Head of Fixed Income at McMorgan & Co., a multi-billion dollar manager of institutional pension plans where she was responsible for the investment performance and risk management of over $8 billion in fixed income assets. Previously, Ms. Karger worked at RCM Capital Management where she managed several billion dollars worth of mortgage-related securities for institutional clients, and worked for the U.S. Treasury as a savings and loan examiner.
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David Kathman CFA, PhD
David Kathman, CFA, Ph.D is a senior mutual fund analyst for Morningstar. He covers the Oppenheimer, Neuberger Berman, Sentinel, Aston, and Primecap fund families; the large-growth, mid-cap growth, and utilities categories; and socially responsible and faith-based funds. He joined Morningstar in 1998 as an equity analyst.
Kathman holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in linguistics from Michigan State University and a doctorate degree in linguistics from the University of Chicago. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
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Donna Katzin PhD
Donna Katzin is the founding Executive Director of Shared Interest, a social investment fund that raises and utilizes grant and loan capital for democratic and sustainable South African community economic development projects. Since its launch in 1994, the fund has guaranteed South African bank loans to communities of color they would have otherwise considered "unbankable." In the process, Shared Interest has benefited more than 1.8 million low-income black South Africans. Previously, Ms. Katzin directed the South Africa and International Justice Programs for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. She has worked as a union and community organizer, and taught at the City University of New York.
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David Kirkpatrick
David Kirkpatrick is Managing Director and Co-founder of SJF Ventures, a cleantech and positive impact venture capital fund. He helped lead SJF's capitalization of two funds totaling $45 million. He also co-founded SJF Advisory Services, a non-profit corporation, which has assisted 1,800 positive impact enterprises across the US. Previously, Mr. Kirkpatrick founded and managed two other successful enterprises - KirkWorks, a cleantech investment research firm, and SunShares, a solar energy and recycling company. He was named the national 2005 CDVC Practitioner of the Year by the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, and Recycler of the Year in 1996, the National Recycling Coalition's award for recycling leadership. Back To Top
Phil Kirshman CFA, CFP
Phil Kirshman, CFA, CFP, is a Financial Advisor and Portfolio Manager, The Leonard Social Investment Group at UBS Institutional Consulting. Prior to UBS, he joined the Social Responsible Investing (SRI) community when he became Director of Business Development at Progressive Asset Management. His responsibilities included product development, marketing and communications, asset management, and advisor compliance oversight. Mr. Kirshman began his financial services career in 1992 as a Financial Advisor with Smith Barney. Subsequently, he moved to Wachovia Securities where he was a Portfolio Manager and Associate Vice President, managing investment portfolios for high net worth clients and retirement plans.
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Johann Klaassen PhD, CFP, AIF
Johann Klaassen is Vice President of Managed Account Programs for First Affirmative Financial Network, and a member of the First Affirmative Investment Committee. Having joined First Affirmative in 2001, he is responsible for developing asset allocation strategies and Investment Policy Statements, and serves as the primary administrator for First Affirmative's managed accounts. Before joining First Affirmative, Dr. Klaassen worked as an Investor Services Representative with T. Rowe Price. Previously, he served on the faculties of several universities. His scholarly articles have appeared in such journals as Philosophy and Literature, Journal of Social Philosophy, and Journal of Value Inquiry. Back To Top
Peter Knight JD
Peter Knight is the President of Generation Investment Management's US business. Prior to co-founding Generation, he was a Managing Director of MetWest Financial. He began his career with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice after which he served as Chief of Staff to former Vice President Al Gore while Mr. Gore was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later the U.S. Senate. Mr. Knight established his law practice in 1991 as a named partner in a Washington D.C. law firm. He has held senior positions on four presidential campaigns, including serving as the campaign manager for the successful 1996 re-election of President Clinton.
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Greg Koch
Gregory Koch, Managing Director, Global Water Stewardship, Environment & Water Resources at The Coca-Cola Company joined the Company in 1996. The Global Water Stewardship initiative addresses the assessment and mitigation of water risks facing the global Coca-Cola business and includes setting strategic direction, development of standards and support in the areas of plant performance, water and wastewater treatment technologies, social engagement, communications, watershed management and key partnerships. Mr. Koch has managed the Company's global due diligence and wastewater programs, and has led and managed several strategic water resources projects including partnerships with several public and private entities. He has over 20 years of experience in the environmental and engineering fields.
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Michael Krzus
Mike Krzus is a Partner at Grant Thornton and the firm's global expert on improving business reporting. His work is focused on revamping the corporate reporting model to integrate financial and sustainability reporting. He co-authored the first book on this subject, One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy. Mr. Krzus spent most of the past eight years working with or co-founding U.S. and international initiatives to develop reporting frameworks for intangibles and nonfinancial information. He is a member of the 2010 Sustainable Asset Management Faculty. Mike Krzus has almost 38 years of professional experience in public accounting and industry. Back To Top
Thomas Kuh
Thomas Kuh is Business Manager - ESG Indices at MSCI Inc., a leading global provider of investment decision support tools, including indices and portfolio risk and performance analytics. Prior his current role at MSCI Inc., he was Head of ESG Indices at RiskMetrics Group, which was acquired by MSCI Inc. in June 2010. Dr. Kuh joined RiskMetrics in November 2009 through the acquisition of KLD Research & Analytics. During his 17-year career at KLD, Dr. Kuh held a number of positions, most recently Managing Director of KLD Indexes. Prior to KLD, he was a Professor of Economics at Simmons College and a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University.
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Lloyd Kurtz CFA
Lloyd Kurtz, CFA, is chief investment officer at Nelson
Capital. Before joining Nelson in 2004, he was a Senior Vice President at Harris Bretall Sullivan & Smith in San Francisco where he served as director of
quantitative research. Prior to joining Harris Bretall in 1995, he spent four years as Senior Research Analyst at KLD, a Boston firm specializing in social investment research. At KLD he did much of the initial quantitative work in the development of the Domini Social Index, now known as the FTSE KLD 400.
Lloyd is a Lecturer at the U.C. Berkeley Haas Business School's Center for Corporate Responsibility and a faculty advisor to the student-managed Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund. He also serves as program administrator for the Moskowitz Prize, which is awarded annually for the best quantitative study of social investing. He has published many articles on SRI in academic journals, and in 2008 authored a chapter on the topic for the Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility.
He holds a B.A. from Vassar College, an M.B.A. from Babson College, and is a Chartered Financial analyst.
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Steven Lydenberg CFA
Steven Lydenberg is Chief Investment Officer for Domini Social Investments LLC. He has been active in social investing for 30 years as Director of Corporate Accountability Research with the Council on Economic Priorities, Investment Associate with Franklin Research and Development Corporation (now Trillium Asset Management), and Director of Research with Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini & Co. (now KLD Research & Analytics, a part of MSCI). Mr. Lydenberg is the co-author of Rating America's Corporate Conscience and Investing for Good, and co-editor of The Social Investment Almanac. He is the author of Corporations and the Public Interest: Guiding the Invisible Hand.
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Dion Madsen CFA
Dion Madsen is Co-founder and Managing Director of PHYSIC Ventures where he focuses on life science opportunities that address the increasing consumer involvement in prevention and care of chronic disease. Prior to co-founding PHYSIC Ventures, he served as Managing Director and leader of the investment practice of Unilever Technology Ventures. Mr. Madsen has also served as a Partner of RBC Capital Partners, the private equity arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, where he led RBC's investments in early-stage North American healthcare companies. Prior to joining RBC, he was Chief Financial Officer of Cyberion Networking Inc., then a publicly traded national Internet service provider.
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Craig Metrick
Craig Metrick is Principal and US Head of Responsible Investment for Mercer where he consults to public, private and foundation clients on implementing responsible investment principles and mandates. Previously, Mr. Metrick was Director of the Corporate Benchmarking Service (CBS) at the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Inc. (IRRC). Mr. Metrick has authored or co-authored several public reports at Mercer, including Universal Ownership: Opportunities and Challenges; Defined Contribution Plans and Socially Responsible Investing in the United States: A Survey of Plan Sponsors, Administrators and Consultants; Investing in Clean Energy, Clean Technology and Carbon Trading: Insights for Investors; and Energy Efficiency and Real Estate: Opportunities for Investors. Back To Top
Bill Mills
Bill Mills is a Principal at Highland Associates, a firm he co-founded in 1986. Highland is a prominent, investment consulting firm specializing in serving not-for-profit healthcare systems. In 2004, Mr. Mills co-founded Highland Good Steward Management, a fund manager for a series of responsible investment products. Highland is a member of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), Eurosif, and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). Previous to Highland, Mr. Mills worked as a CFO in various healthcare systems.
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Saurabh Narain
Saurabh Narain is Chief Fund Advisor to the National Community Investment Fund (NCIF). NCIF is a non-profit private equity fund that invests capital in community development and minority banks in the country. Under his leadership, NCIF created the Social Performance MetricsSM for community development banks and thrifts. Prior to NCIF, Mr. Narain had extensive experience in capital markets and risk management having worked at Bank of America for almost 17 years based in Asia and the US. He has done business in numerous countries dealing with financial institutions, global multinational corporations and governments. He is also involved with the microfinance movement in India.
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Hope Neighbor
Hope Neighbor is the Founder and CEO of Hope Consulting, a boutique strategy firm focused on the social sector. Hope Consulting works with the world's leading foundations and nonprofits, to craft strategies for maximum social change. Prior to Hope Consulting, Ms. Neighbor was a strategy consultant with Marakon Associates, a boutique strategy firm serving Fortune 500 clients where she worked with senior leadership of publicly traded healthcare, hospitality, and retail companies on growth strategy. Previously, she worked at the World Bank, where she was integral to the design and supervision of a $270M loan and grant portfolio.
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Dan Nielsen
Dan Nielsen is the Director of Socially Responsible Investing at Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. (CBIS) where he is responsible for the direction and management of all elements of the socially responsible investing program. CBIS manages $3.8 billion of assets on behalf of over 1,000 Catholic institutions. Prior to Christian Brothers, Mr. Nielsen was the Manager of Socially Responsible Investing at the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church. Previously, he was the Executive Director of the Global Philanthropy Partnership, a non-profit organization whose principle aim was the promotion and expansion of philanthropy targeting international development issues. Back To Top
Amy O'Brien
Amy Muska O'Brien is Director, Global Social & Community Investing at TIAA-CREF where she oversees the social screening of funds, 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 investing issues. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, Ms. O'Brien served as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at the Pension Boards - United Church of Christ. 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.
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Kevin O'Keefe CIMA, AIF
Kevin O'Keefe is the Chief Investment Officer of First Affirmative Financial Network, is a member of First Affirmative's Investment Committee, and is responsible for due diligence for all mutual funds and separate account managers. Mr. O'Keefe has been with First Affirmative since 1991. From 1996 to 1999 he was with Reber/Russell Company (concurrent with his First Affirmative responsibilities), a firm affiliated with Frank Russell Investment Management Company. Upon leaving Reber/Russell Company in early 1999, his role at First Affirmative expanded. He collaborated with George Gay to develop Efficiencies, the first strategic asset allocation program consisting of diversified portfolios of mutual funds for socially conscious investors, based on the investment management principles used by Russell.
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Jacob Park
Professor Jacob Park, associate professor of business and public policy at Green Mountain College since 2002, specializes in the teaching and research of global environment and business strategy, corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and community-based entrepreneurship and innovation. A former financial journalist with Fortune Magazine, global environmental policy advisor to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and a United Nations research specialist on Asian environmental and urban development issues, he worked as a senior research consultant and Japanese and Asian equity specialist in the Governance and Socially Responsibility Investment Group of ISIS Asset Management, a London-based investment company.
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Philip Payne JD
Philip Payne is the CEO of Ginkgo Residential, formerly Babcock & Brown Residential (BBR). Headquartered in North Carolina, Ginkgo is a fully integrated real estate operating company whose focus is to provide high quality apartment homes to the middle market. Mr. Payne joined BT Venture Corporation, subsequently purchased by BBR, in 1990. He has held numerous positions in the firm since then. Prior to BBR, he was a principal in Payne Knowles Investment Group, a financial planning firm. Previously, he was a registered representative with Legg Mason Wood Walker, prior to which he practiced law. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute.
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Susan Preston JD
Susan Preston is General Partner for the CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund. She has spent most of her career in senior management positions in public and private companies, from general counsel to CEO. She has been a partner in two national law firms and is a patent attorney. Ms. Preston is a world-recognized expert in angel financing. Her most recent book is Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs. She is a national and international speaker on economic development, angel and venture financing. Ms. Preston was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Kauffman Foundation for six years focusing on initiatives related to angel investing, angel organizations and women entrepreneurs. Back To Top
Mark Regier
Mark Regier is Director of Stewardship Investing for MMA (Mennonite Mutual Aid), the stewardship agency of the Mennonite Church USA, and the publicly available MMA Praxis Mutual Funds. He joined MMA in 1997. He has served as the Governing Board chair for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), and is the founding chair of the International SRI Working Group (IWG), a program of the Social Investment Forum US. In 2006, Mr. Regier received the SRI Service Award, the social investment industry's highest honor. Prior to joining MMA, he spent six years establishing and managing the marketing program for Faith & Life Press.
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Brian Reich
Brian Reich is the managing director of little m media, which provides strategic guidance and support to organizations in the use of the internet and technology to facilitate communications, engagement, education, and mobilization. Mr. Reich blogs at Thinking About Media, contributes as a Fast Company Expert, hosts a weekly podcast, Thinking About Everything, and authored Media Rules!: Mastering Today's Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience. He was a principal of EchoDitto, Director of New Media for Cone Inc., and a Senior Strategic Consultant for Mindshare Interactive Campaigns. He spent two years as Vice President Gore's Briefing Director in the White House.
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Heike Reichelt
Heike Reichelt is Head of Investor Relations and New Products in the Capital Markets Department at the World Bank. Her team is responsible for the relationship of the World Bank with bond investors and rating agencies, and for developing new debt products for investors - including for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities through products, like World Bank green bonds. Ms. Reichelt is also part of the World Bank Treasury's Sovereign Investments Partnerships Program for central banks. Before joining the World Bank, she was at the German development agency Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), and in various positions with European commercial banks.
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Brian Rice
Mr. Rice is the lead Investment Officer in the CalSTRS Corporate Governance Department and has been working in the governance group at CalSTRS for almost seven years. His main areas of focus at CalSTRS are the corporate engagement program (on issues such as sustainability risk management, corporate governance structure, and executive compensation best practices) and managing the CalSTRS activist manager portfolio. Mr. Rice is also actively involved in proxy voting, the CalSTRS focus list, and engagement with organizations such as the NYSE and the SEC.
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Amy O'Neill Richard
Amy O'Neill Richard is Senior Advisor to the Director at the U.S. State Department Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. She develops strategies to counter human trafficking, including the development of public-private partnerships and the promotion of external research. The office has released The 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report on 175 nations which serves as the primary diplomatic tool through which the government encourages partnership in the fight against trafficking. Ms. Richard has been honored with the 2005 Swanee Hunt Award for Advancing Women's Role in Policy Formulation, and the 2001 Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs. Back To Top
Lisa Richter
Lisa Richter is Principal and Co-founder of GPS Capital Partners, LLC, a consultancy that assists foundations and institutional investors in the design and execution of profitable investment strategy that generates targeted social and environmental benefit. Her work spans asset classes, return expectations and issue areas, frequently incorporating place-based and sector focus to increase equitable access to opportunities, including health, education and sustainable community development. She brings over two decades of fund management and development finance experience from the National Community Investment Fund and ShoreBank, and served as an advisor to the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative, among other organizations.
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Myrna M. Rivera M. CIMA
Myrna M. Rivera is Founder and Managing Director of Consultiva Internacional, Inc., an employee-owned investment management consulting firm she founded in 1999. Consultiva is a Signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investing. Ms. Rivera is a former Director and Senior Vice President of the Consulting Group at Smith Barney and John Ellis Jr. Excellence Award Recipient for dedication and service in this field. Additional recognitions received for her leadership include: the Joyce Johnson Award of the National Association of Securities Professionals, the Highest Leaf Award from the Women's Venture Fund of New York for entrepreneurial excellence, and "Top 100 Influential Hispanics" of Hispanic Business Magazine. Back To Top
John Rooks
John Rooks founded The SOAP Group (Sustainable Organization Advocacy Partners) in 2003 to blend communication and environmental activism. He serves as The SOAP Group's President. Mr. Rooks has worked with Fortune 500 Companies, Federal Agencies, Start-Ups and International NGOs helping them understand sustainability imperatives, modern culture and how to architect authentic communication strategies. He blends an understanding of culture, language, messaging and the environment into creative communication opportunities that activate sustainability and social justice. Mr. Rooks is a frequent writer and speaker on the intersection of Sustainability, Language and Culture. He is the author of More Than Promote - A Monkeywrencher's Guide to Authentic Marketing.
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Cliff Rosenthal
Cliff Rosenthal has served as the chief executive officer of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions since 1983. Based in New York City, the Federation represents more than 200 credit unions that serve low-income communities across the United States. He cofounded and serves on the board of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Coalition. In 2009, Mr. Rosenthal was appointed to the Consumer Affairs Advisory Council of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Among other honors, in 2009, the ASI Federal Credit Union in New Orleans named its Community Resource Center after him, recognizing the assistance he coordinated after Hurricane Katrina. Back To Top
Catherine Palmer Roy CFA
Catherine Palmer Roy is responsible for evaluating and monitoring the investment performance and risk profiles of all Calvert fixed income Funds. Prior to joining Calvert in 2004, she was Head of U.S. Fixed Income and Senior Portfolio Manager at Baring Asset Management where she was responsible for managing the U.S. fixed income team. Previously, Ms. Roy served in various Portfolio roles including a position as Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at Scudder Kemper Investments where she managed $11 billion in fixed income assets for insurance companies, and as Chief Investment Officer at Massachusetts insurer, SBLI. Back To Top
David Schilling
David Schilling is a United Methodist minister, and is the Director of Human Rights and Resources Programs at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). Through his work, he pushes for corporate accountability on issues of human and labor rights in the contract supplier system. Mr. Schilling has participated with ICCR members in delegations to China, Central America, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam, visiting factories and meeting with workers. He is a regional advisor to the Institute for Human Rights and Business, and was a member of President Clinton's Anti-Sweatshop Task Force and the Global Reporting Initiative's Working Group on the Apparel, Footwear Industry. Back To Top
Steve Schueth
Steve Schueth is President of First Affirmative Financial Network. For over 20 years, Mr. Schueth has been a nationally recognized authority, consultant, and resource to the sustainable and responsible investment industry. He has been with First Affirmative since 1999. Between 1989 and 1997, he served as Vice President, Socially Responsible Investing at Calvert, and as President, Calvert Distributors. During this time, he led a team that developed the first global socially screened mutual fund in the U.S. and was responsible for Calvert's relationship with over 2,000 broker-dealer firms. Mr. Schueth is a co-producer of the annual SRI in the Rockies Conference and chairs the Agenda Committee for the conference. He was awarded the SRI Service Award by his industry colleagues in 1998. Back To Top
Judy Seid CFP
Judy Seid, CFP, is the President and Founder of Blue Summit Wealth Management. As Branch Manager, she oversees the activities of associates in the firm, while managing a select group of clients; concentrating on wealth management and financial planning strategies for families, business owners, inheritors, and retirees. She has conducted hundreds of seminars & workshops on topics including Socially Responsible Investing, Financial Planning & Investments, Senior Estate Planning, Pre-retirement planning, and Long Term Care Insurance planning, has spoken on the radio, and is often quoted in publications. In 2009, Ms. Seid was recognized as SRI Advisor of the Year by Boomer Market Advisor Magazine.
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Adam Seitchik PhD, CFA
Adam Seitchik is Managing Director at Auriel Capital, an institutional asset management firm specializing in systematic alpha strategies. He is responsible for developing tailored ESG strategies for investors in Europe and North America. Previously, Mr. Seitchik was Chief Investment Officer at Trillium Asset Management where he oversaw $1 billion in investment portfolios. Prior to Trillium, he worked closely with the founding partners of Auriel at Deutsche Asset Management where he was the Chief Global Strategist in London. Mr. Seitchik's most recent article is "ESG Data: The Good, the Bad and the Indifferent" for Investment and Pensions Europe. Back To Top
Don Shaffer
Don Shaffer is President and CEO of RSF Social Finance, a pioneering non-profit financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Prior to joining RSF, Don served as Executive Director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), developing it into an alliance of over 15,000 independently owned businesses across the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Shaffer has also served as Interim Executive Director of Investors' Circle. He has held senior management positions building social mission companies, and has served and led sales, marketing, business-development, and general-operations teams in the education and software sectors.
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Beth Sirull
Beth Sirull became the Executive Director of Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) in 2009. Previously, she was the founding Director of InSight, PCV's research and analysis practice that increases the flow of capital to lower income communities. As Director of InSight, Ms. Sirull was responsible for developing and managing consulting relationships, providing social return on investment research and analytical services to external institutional investors. Prior to joining PCV, she spent over fifteen years consulting in market research and strategy. In the past several years, her work has focused increasingly on corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investing.
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Cheryl Smith PhD, CFA
Cheryl Smith is President and a senior portfolio manager of Trillium Asset Management. She began her investment management career at Trillium Asset Management Corporation ("Trillium") in 1987. In 1992, she joined United States Trust Company in Boston (now known as Walden Asset Management) as Vice President and portfolio manager, before rejoining Trillium in the fall of 1997. She is Chair of the Board of the Social Investment Forum, and on the Steering Committee for the Initiative for Responsible Investment. Dr. Smith is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute. She is a member of the American Economic Association.
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Julie Tanner
Julie Tanner is Assistant Director, Socially Responsible Investing at Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS). She is responsible for engaging with boards and senior management at corporations to encourage the development and implementation of substantive environment, human rights, and corporate governance policies and practices. Ms. Tanner has been instrumental in agreements with Newmont Mining resulting in an in-depth evaluation of community opposition at mining sites around the globe, with Cisco Systems providing shareholders with an advisory vote on executive compensation, and with JPMorgan Chase creating the position of Director of Environmental Affairs and the development of environmental policies.
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Pat Tomaino
Pat Tomaino is a Senior Analyst in Governance & Sustainable Investment at F&C Management Ltd. He is responsible for proxy voting across North and South America, and meets with companies to raise material environmental and social risks as part of F&C's Responsible Engagement Overlay (reo?). Mr. Tomaino also contributes sustainability analysis to F&C's suite of sustainability funds. Specialist areas of engagement include: the consumer products sectors, Latin America equities, and water risk and opportunity. He joined F & C in 2007.
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Giuseppe van der Helm
Giuseppe van der Helm has been the executive director of the Association of Investors in Sustainable Development (VBDO) in The Netherlands since 2006 and president of Eurosif (European Sustainable Investment Forum) since 2009. Previously, he worked for ten years in marketing at chemical company DSM. During that period, Mr. van der Helm got his first taste of sustainability while working in Paris as Quality Assurance Manager for the automotive industry. After a brief episode as Business Unit Manager with Sigma Coatings, he worked as President Europe with motor oil company Valvoline.
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Meg Voorhes
Meg Voorhes is Deputy Director of the Social Investment Forum (SIF), the U.S. membership association for individuals and firms engaged in socially responsible investment. Before joining SIF, Ms. Voorhes directed environmental, social and governance research for RiskMetrics Group's Financial Research and Analysis division. During her tenure at RiskMetrics, a SIF member firm, she served on the SIF board and executive committee. For much of her career at the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), acquired by the Institutional Shareholder Service unit of RiskMetrics Group, Ms. Voorhes specialized in issues related to multinational investment in South Africa. From 1990 through 1996, she directed IRRC's Southern Africa Service.
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Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace is Director of the Sustainability Reporting Framework (SuRF) at the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). SuRF represents the principal vehicle for the pursuit of the GRI's mission. He has worked with both local and global organizations on the development and implementation of sustainability programs. Mr. Wallace has almost 20 years' experience advising companies, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their respective efforts to develop sustainability initiatives. His work in the sustainability field began in Australia while with ERM and was refined during his time with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) in San Francisco. He also ran his own advisory services firm for over 5 years. Back To Top
John K.S. Wilson
John K.S. Wilson is Director of Corporate Governance for TIAA-CREF. His primary responsibilities are to oversee the voting of proxies and engage in dialogue with portfolio companies to promote social and environmental responsibility and good corporate governance. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF in early 2008, Mr. Wilson served as Director of Socially Responsible Investing for Christian Brothers Investment Services, an investment advisor to Catholic institutions. He is a past Vice-Chair of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and was a founding advisory committee member of the International SRI Working Group, a think tank serving social investing professionals. Back To Top
Lisa Woll
Lisa Woll is CEO of the Social Investment Forum (SIF). Prior to SIF, Lisa was executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation which seeks to strengthen the role of women in the news media around the world and to protect press freedom. Ms. Woll 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 the founder of Suited for Change in Washington, DC.
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David Wood PhD
David Wood, PhD, is Director of the Initiative for Responsible Investment (IRI), a project of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has directed projects on responsible investment across asset classes, responsible investment consulting, mission investment, invest use and corporate disclosure of environmental, social, and governance issues, responsible property investment, and offshore investment in sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises, among other topics. Before joining the IRI, Dr. Wood taught the history of ethics, including the history of economic thought, at Boston University.
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Betsy Zeidman
Betsy Zeidman is Director of the Center for Emerging Domestic Markets (CEDM) and a Research Fellow at the Milken Institute, and manages the Institute's work in mission-related investing, corporate governance and development finance. Ms. Zeidman is a member of the board of directors of the Social Investment Forum , and sits on the advisory board of the Center for Community Investments at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Prior to joining the Institute, she provided strategic management and marketing advisory services to clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, with a specialty in corporate responsibility and financial performance. Back To Top
Xin Zhuo
Xin Zhuo is Manager, Advisory Services for China at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), and is based in Beijing. She works primarily with companies in the banking, private equity, and mutual fund sectors on corporate responsibility, stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) monitoring and engagement. She is also the lead author of BSR's recent report on sustainable investment in China. Prior to joining BSR, Ms. Zhuo spent four years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where she developed extensive public and private consulting experience, including legal and regulatory reform, institutional capacity building, industry-focused diagnostics, and energy efficiency financing programs.
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