Troy Murphy Former NBA Player and Founder, Sweven Wealth Management
Troy Murphy is a former NBA basketball player and founder of Sweven Wealth (Sweven), a unique Registered Investment Advisory firm serving high-net-worth individuals and families. Troy’s interest in becoming a financial advisor began while he was in the NBA and struggling—along with his fellow athletes—to find a financial advisor he could trust to help him manage his newly-acquired wealth. That interest led Troy to earn a degree in sociology from Columbia University and establish Sweven in 2019 after 12 seasons in the NBA. Sweven donates all of its profits to nonprofit organizations teaching financial literacy.
Gary White CEO and Co-founder of Water.org and WaterEquity
Gary is the CEO and Co-founder of Water.org and WaterEquity, nonprofit organizations dedicated to empowering people in the developing world to gain access to safe water and sanitation. (Water.org is the resulting organization of the July 2009 merger between WaterPartners, co-founded by Gary in 1990, and H2O Africa, co-founded by actor Matt Damon). Gary developed Water.org’s WaterCredit Initiative, creating new financing options for poor populations to meet their water supply and sanitation needs. Gary also developed and now leads WaterEquity, the first-ever impact investment manager dedicated to ending the global water crisis in our lifetime, with an exclusive focus on raising and deploying capital to water and sanitation businesses throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Over the past 25 years, Gary’s entrepreneurial vision has driven innovations in the way water and sanitation projects are delivered and financed, innovations that now serve as a model in the sector.
Gary is a leading advisor in the water and sanitation space, counseling organizations such as the Skoll Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and the Caterpillar Foundation on responses to the global water crisis. Gary is a founding board member of the Millennium Water Alliance and Water Advocates.
Gary was selected as a Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneur in 2009 and a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur in 2012. In 2011, he was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2014 he was named to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water. In 2017, Gary was awarded the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
Gary’s educational credentials include three degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Missouri University of Science & Technology.
Amy Springsteel AVP, Corporate Responsibility, Voya Financial (Voya)
Amy is responsible for aligning Voya’s corporate responsibility (CR) with the company’s business objectives, integrating them into the brand, and disseminating them throughout the enterprise by developing and implementing Voya’s corporate responsibility strategy, methodology and policies. Amy’s background encompasses the corporate, public, non-profit and political sector, and a roster of select clients including General Electric (GE), PepsiCo, Deloitte, IBM, The Princeton Review, the New York State Department of Banking, the New York City Agency for Child Development, Benjamin for U.S. Senate, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Boys Choir of Harlem.
Amy is a member of the Junior Achievement of New York board of directors and holds the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights/Columbia University Sustainable Investing, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Kaplan EduNeering Sustainability Professional certifications. She earned both her bachelor’s and M.S. degrees from The Florida State University.
Jennifer Leitsch VP, Corporate Responsibility, CBRE
Jennifer leads the company's corporate responsibility strategy and disclosure, including the annual Corporate Responsibility Report and responses to the RobecoSAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, CDP climate change and supply chain disclosures, and other stakeholder inquiries regarding CBRE’s environmental, social and governance practices. She advances CBRE’s corporate responsibility platform through stakeholder engagement and relationship management. Prior to joining CBRE, Jennifer managed corporate responsibility programs at Prologis for five years. Earlier in her career, she worked in sustainability consulting, marketing and management consulting.
Jennifer holds her MBA and MS in marketing from the University of Colorado Denver, and her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Iowa. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and a SASB FSA Credential holder. Jennifer was trained by Al Gore in 2017 as a Climate Reality Leader.
Jennifer chairs the Advisory Council for the Managing for Sustainability program at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. She serves as the Vice Chair of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Stakeholder Council, representing business enterprise while advising the GRI Board on strategic issues. Jennifer was named to the Denver Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2014 and is a graduate of the Leadership Denver Class of 2015.
Jeff West Global Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Lead, IBM
Jeff West is leads IBM’s global corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy, managing IBM’s annual Corporate Responsibility Report, engagement with socially responsible investor analysts and global sustainability reporting. He also leads the IBM working group on corporate responsibility, which involves stakeholders from IBM’s Corporate Citizenship, environment, governance, supply chain, public policy, human resources and research functions.
Prior to joining IBM, Jeff served as director of corporate philanthropy at the Council on Foundations where he led the organization’s corporate philanthropy portfolio. Jeff is an expert in developing public private partnerships and spent eight years at the Peace Corps, the last five as the agency’s lead on strategic partnerships with the private sector. During his tenure, Jeff designed and implemented the Peace Corps' first ever strategic partnerships with global corporations including Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and IBM with programs spanning multiple countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Jeff also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine.
Dr. Peter Schultz Vice President, ICF
Dr. Schultz has 20 years of experience in climate and global change research, management, decision support, and communication. He analyzes the impacts of climate change on a broad array of sectors and helps clients prepare for the threats and opportunities presented by climate change. Dr. Schultz manages or contributes to projects on climate-resilient development, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), coastal energy impacts for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and climate risk screening for the World Bank (WB).
Dr. Schultz’s research has been in the fields of climate and carbon cycle modeling, the economics of climate change, and remote sensing of vegetation. He has led or contributed to the framing and development of dozens of global change assessments at the National Research Council, U.S. Global Change Research Program, and ICF.
Dr. Schultz has a Ph.D. and an M.S. in geosciences from Pennsylvania State University and a B.S. in geology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
William W. Towns, Ph.D., MBA Executive Director, Benefit Chicago
Dr. William W. Towns is a scholar, activist, and practitioner, dedicated to helping solve civic and urban issues at the structural level. He is the Executive Director of Benefit Chicago, a collaboration between The Chicago Community Trust, The MacArthur Foundation, and Calvert Impact Capital, mobilizing $100 million in impact investments targeting the social enterprise sector in the Chicago region.
He came to Benefit Chicago from the University of Chicago, where he was an Assistant Vice President and led the Office of Civic Engagement’s Anchor Strategy, which looked to understand how a university could support equitable economic change.
Dr. Towns serves on numerous boards and committees, within the housing, health care, banking and education sectors, including the Chicago Community Land Trust Board and the Advisory Council on Agriculture, Small Business and Labor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from impact investing, corporate social innovation, women in the workplace and civic engagement.
Dr. Towns is an Adjunct Lecturer of Social Impact at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He received a BA from Loyola University Chicago, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D., from Benedictine University.
Nicole Torrico Program Manager, Intentional Endowments Network
Nicole Torrico is program manager at the Intentional Endowments Network. Nicole manages working groups on key topics including student-managed investment funds, sustainable investing curriculum, clean energy, and gender lens investing; coordinates and curates educational content including the monthly webinar series, weekly news round-up and bi-monthly newsletter; and contributes to writing reports and researching topics related to SRI and ESG investing at college and university endowments.
Prior to IEN, held several pivotal roles at Green Mountain College’s sustainability office, including interim director of sustainability, where she supported the development and execution of campus-wide strategic sustainability initiatives. These included renewable energy procurement, waste diversion, student education, and sustainable investing through the endowment.
Nicole graduated Magna Cum Laude from Green Mountain College with a B.A. in Institutional Sustainability and Economic Policy, as well as a B.A. in Renewable Energy and Ecological Design.
Daniel Rosen Vice President, Administration and General Counsel, TerraCycle
Daniel has held the position of vice president and general counsel at TerraCycle, Inc. since June 2016 after having spent the previous six years as its vice president for global administration responsible for overseeing the company’s expansion into 20 foreign markets. Prior to joining TerraCycle, Inc., Daniel worked at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., studying monetary policy. He holds a BA in government from Cornell University and a JD from the University of Miami (FL) School of Law.
Marija Kramer Managing Director, ISS ESG
Marija Kramer is managing director of ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. She leads the ISS-ethix business unit, which enables investors to develop and integrate responsible investing policies and practices, engage on responsible investment issues, and monitor portfolio company practices through in-depth research and screening solutions. Marija also heads ISS-climate, which provides data, analytics and advisory services to help financial market participants understand, measure, and act on climate-related risks across all asset classes. She is responsible for new ESG product development, working closely with industry constituents and partners to advance ESG solutions for the benefit of institutional investors.
A member of ISS’ Leadership Team, Marija has been instrumental in identifying and securing external growth opportunities, globally, for the ISS ESG business.
Before joining ISS in 2003, Marija was with Thomson, where she was responsible for the design and implementation of Thomson’s flagship investment management and banking portals. She holds an M.B.A. from American University’s Kogod School of Business.
Todd Kading President, LeafHouse Financial
Todd Kading has been serving retirement plan clients for over 20 years. He is the president and co-founder of LeafHouse Financial (“LeafHouse”), a national discretionary investment manager for retirement plans. LeafHouse partners with advisors in providing fiduciary investment services, and integrates technology and industry knowledge to provide a layer of protection to plan sponsors and advisors. The firm manages over $5 billion in retirement plan assets, and serves retirement plans that range from start-up to large institutions (both public and private clients) across the U.S.
Todd is one of the most credentialed and experienced advisors in the retirement fiduciary field in the country. He has become a sought-after national speaker and authority in the retirement plan arena. Todd has been interviewed by Fox Business News and spoken for numerous groups such the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Texas Association of Business, and over a dozen SHRM chapters.
Alex Bernhardt U.S. Responsible Investment (RI) Leader, Mercer Investments
Mr. Bernhardt is a noted expert in sustainable finance and is often quoted in financial industry press. In 2017, he was ranked as one of the “top 20 most influential individual consultants globally” in the Sustainable and Responsible Investing category by Independent Research in Responsible Investment.
At Mercer, Alex leads ESG integration exercises for the boards and investment committees of a range of institutional investors. Alex was a lead contributor to Mercer’s “Investing in a Time of Climate Change” research and has since (co)-led related consulting arrangements for North American institutional investors representing more than $800B of assets.
Prior to joining Mercer, Alex was a senior vice president at Guy Carpenter, another Marsh & McLennan operating company. Here he co-led the “Flood Insurance Risk Study”, an in-depth year-long project for the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) focused on researching the global capacity for catastrophic flood reinsurance, options for flood insurance privatization in the U.S., and the NFIP's capital adequacy.
Mr. Bernhardt holds a BA from the University of Puget Sound, is a board member for Earth Economics and holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses.
Steven Wallman Founder and CEO, Folio Financial, Inc.
Steven Wallman is founder and CEO of, Folio Financial, Inc. (formerly FOLIOfn, Inc.), the parent company of The SRI Conference and Community, Folio Investing, Folio Institutional, and VIA Folio. Together, these Folio brands deliver innovation that benefits investors and those who serve them.
In 2016, FOLIOfn, Inc. (now Folio Financial) acquired First Affirmative and The SRI Conference as part of the company’s ongoing mission to transform the way people invest for the better. Folio Financial’s commitment to SRI greatly widens the scope of possibilities for responsible investors with new technology, tools, and investment opportunities, including private impact investing. In 2017, Mr. Wallman established The SRI Conference and Community to help grow the SRI ecosystem even further, by including all those who have a stake in a healthy, safe, equitable, and prosperous future, and by providing a forum for year-round collaboration and communication.
Mr. Wallman is currently a member of the FINRA FinTech Committee and recently served on the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, where he chaired the market structure subcommittee. Before founding Folio, Mr. Wallman was an SEC Commissioner from 1994 to 1997. His tenure there was characterized by advocacy on behalf of individual investors. Previously, he was a partner at the law firm of Covington & Burling. He holds his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University, and two degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
George R. Gay CFP®, AIF® Chief Executive Officer, First Affirmative
George R. Gay CFP, AIF is chief executive officer of First Affirmative Financial Network and a member of the firm's investment committee.
Mr. Gay grew up on a family farm near what was then a heavily polluted Lake Erie. He recalls being admonished to “keep his head out of the water” when swimming to avoid getting sick. He credits that lasting memory as one of his inspirations for embarking on a career in SRI.
After graduating from West Point, and after handling the financial management of the “city part” of an army base for six years, he earned his Certified Financial Planner designation. Here his lifelong interest in environmental protection intersected with his passion for investing, and he became the portfolio manager of an environmentally-focused mutual fund in the early 1990s.
He has produced and hosted The SRI Conference since 1990, and has served on the board of directors of the Social Investment Forum for more than a dozen years. He was also the recipient of the industry's 1997 "SRI Service Award."
Mr. Gay is a 1974 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point; he served on active duty for nine years in various command, staff and faculty assignments as an Armor officer.
Danielle Burns VP, Sales and Marketing, First Affirmative
Danielle M. Burns is vice president of sales and marketing for First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC, and works with a highly collaborative team that is responsible for the growth and profitability of the firm’s distribution channels. Danielle participates in all aspects of the sales and marketing process and helps advisors understand how to maximize the value of working with First Affirmative. Her background emphasizes technology training and practice management development for financial advisors.
Danielle began her financial services career in 1994 at the Wachovia Corporation where she worked for both Wachovia Bank and Wachovia Securities performing a variety of management duties over her nine-year tenure. Danielle serves on the board of Green America, a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982, whose mission is to harness economic power to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. Danielle is a certified trainer for Walking On the Glass Floor which promotes Diversity and Inclusion for Women in Leadership.
Danielle holds an MBA with an emphasis in marketing and the AIF designation.
Greg Vigrass President, Folio Institutional
Greg Vigrass is president of Folio Institutional. He joined the company in 2003, and oversees all corporate sales and business development activities with financial advisors, money managers, mutual fund companies and other financial institutions. He is a noted expert on digital advisory services, SRI industry perspectives, brokerage technology, and risk mitigation.
Mr. Vigrass previously served as vice president, sales and marketing for GlobeNet Capital Corp. Prior to that he worked for 10 years at Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., spending significant time in senior level institutional sales and service roles at Schwab Institutional. He holds a BA from the University of Hawaii, and has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Amy Thacker Chief Operating Officer, First Affirmative
Amy Thacker is the chief operating officer for First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC. Sustainable, responsible, and impact investing connects two areas Ms. Thacker is passionate about: helping investors—regardless of economic status—achieve their retirement goals, and creating clean, sustainable, living conditions for all.
Prior to joining First Affirmative, Ms. Thacker was most recently a vice president with T. Rowe Price’s retirement plan services division where she was responsible for directing a successful strategic project team focused on transforming the division’s business model, recordkeeping platform, and ancillary applications.
Ms. Thacker holds the FINRA Series 7, 6 and 63 licenses, and is a certified Six Sigma yellow belt. She earned her master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regis University, and a B.S. in nutrition from the University of Northern Colorado.
Holly Testa First Affirmative
Holly manages corporate engagement activities for First Affirmative Financial Network and directs the firm’s proxy voting policy and implementation. She was responsible for developing and launching the firm’s direct advocacy program in 2008 and has since engaged dozens of portfolio companies through dialogue and resolution filing on numerous environmental, social, and governance issues. Holly works with the firm’s advisors and their clients, providing advocacy education and engagement opportunities. Holly has been affiliated with First Affirmative for over 25 years in several capacities, including business development and as an Investment Advisory Representative.
Theresa Gusman, FSA Chief Investment Officer, First Affirmative
Theresa Gusman is chief investment officer of First Affirmative Financial Network and chair of the firm’s investment committee. Ms. Gusman is passionate about enabling the firm’s clients to achieve their dreams by reaching both their financial and impact objectives.
Prior to joining First Affirmative, she founded ENDURANCE LLC to build and enhance the power of capital markets to accelerate the flow of money and ideas to investments for both purpose and profit. Before this, Ms. Gusman held a series of leadership positions at Deutsche Bank including senior portfolio manager, global head of equities, head of U.S. equity research, and global head of commodities. For more than 17 years, she led Deutsche Bank’s global proxy voting committee, where she set the firm’s corporate assessment and engagement strategy.
Ms. Gusman is also the co-founder of the RelateID Foundation, has taught an MBA course on sustainable finance, and served on the SIFMA Securities Industry Institute board, the Financial Women's Association’s directorships and corporate governance committee, and Après Group’s advisory board.
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