“Women Invested” series spotlights leading SRI voices
A new series of free online interviews with twelve leaders of the socially responsive investing movement is now rolling out, with one new interview available each Tuesday. The “Women Invested” series is hosted by our Natural Investments colleagues Malaika Maphalala and Carrie Van Winkle.
The diverse line-up of guests ranges from managers of capital management firms Green Century Capital and Trillium Asset Management to community investing champions from Calvert Foundation and Nia Community, the co-owners of Namasté Solar, the farm manager at Iroquois Valley Farms, and many others.
Check out the Women Invested site for full bios of all the featured guests as well for both audio and video versions of the interviews. You can also click through here for a preview of the bios.
LESLIE SAMUELRICH
Green Century Capital Management | President, Member, Board of Directors
Ms. Samuelrich leads Green Century Capital Management, focusing on the firm’s current and emerging investment strategies, business development, and impact investing program. She is a frequent speaker on impact, gender-lens, and environmentally sustainable investing. Prior to joining Green Century, Ms. Samuelrich served as the Chief of Staff at Corporate Accountability International and Executive Director of Green Corps. Leslie earned a BA in economics from Boston College and currently serves on the Board of Directors for US SIF, the membership association for professionals, firms, institutions and organizations engaged in sustainable, responsible, and impact investing, as well as the Advisory Board of the Intentional Endowments Network.
ERIN W. GRAY
Green Century Capital Management| Marketing and Strategic Analysis
Working from Green Century Capital Management’s Seattle and Bay Area offices, Ms. Gray supports financial advisors on the west coast, coordinates sustainable investing event participation and leads special analytical projects. Prior to joining Green Century more than a decade ago, Ms. Gray performed financial analysis for an environmental consulting firm and worked at a public accounting firm. She earned her BA from Smith College and her MBA and Masters of Environmental Management from Yale University.
DONNA KATZIN
Shared Interest | Founding Executive Director
Donna Katzin is the founding Executive Director of Shared Interest. From 1986 until July of 1994, she served as Director of South Africa and International Justice Programs for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. In that capacity she worked with religious bodies, institutional investors and community organizations to exert economic pressure to end apartheid, promote responsible reinvestment after apartheid, and to advance social criteria for domestic and international lending. She holds a master’s degree in Community Organization and Planning, and a doctorate in Human Services Education and Development. She is a board member of the Thembani International Guarantee Fund, and Housing for HIV.
SALLY DODGE
Iroquois Valley Farms | Farm Manager, Northeast Community Development Manager
Sally is Northeast Community Development Manager, and a board member, at Iroquois Valley Farms, a food and farmland impact investment company that provides land access for organic farmers. Sally was an early promoter in the local foods movement in the Northeast, connecting chefs with farmers, and setting up farmers markets in Vermont. Sally is a farmer, entrepreneur, and conservationist. She serves on the board and investment committee of the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation.
SUSAN BAKER
Trillium Asset Management | Vice President, Shareholder Advocacy
Susan has over 20 years’ experience in the investment industry. Mentored early in her career by Joan Bavaria, the founder of Trillium Asset Management and a pioneer in the field of responsible and sustainable investing, Susan has long believed that women’s voices and leadership skills are important and beneficial to the investment field. She has held several positions at Trillium and for the past ten years, has been a member of Trillium’s Shareholder Advocacy team, leading direct communication with company leadership on issues including board and workplace diversity, human and labor rights, and environmental health. Susan lives in Arlington, Massachusetts with her husband, George. She can be frequently found tending their tomato garden, hiking and keeping up with the lives of her two grown children.
ELYSE CHERRY
Boston Community Capital | CEO
Elyse Cherry is Chief Executive Officer of Boston Community Capital, a sustainable $1 billion national nonprofit organization fighting for social and economic justice. Under her leadership, Boston Community Capital has leveraged $6 billion of public and private investment in underserved communities nationwide. Elyse helped found Boston Community Capital in 1984 as a member of its original Board of Directors and has been integrally involved in its development and growth from a start-up organization to what is, today, a national model for community investment.
AMANDA BYBEE
Namaste Solar | Co-Owner, Director of Strategic Planning and Initiatives
Amanda has worked in the solar industry since 2003, first promoting renewable energy policy in Austin, TX while at Public Citizen, then at Meridian Energy Systems, before finding her home at Namasté Solar. Amanda joined Namasté Solar in January 2006 as an early member of the team. She has held numerous roles over the years, from business administration to human resources to sales & design. Today, Amanda serves as the Director of Strategic Planning and Initiatives, devoting her energy to strategic planning and special projects that benefit the company and its customers. She is a passionate advocate for Namasté Solar’s unique employee-owned, holistic business model, and is excited to extend Namasté Solar’s reach on a national scale through our Commercial Service offerings. She obtained a BA in English and French from the University of Texas at Austin, and through solar, has also found her “inner engineer.”
TERI LEMA
Namaste Solar | Co-Owner, Human Resources Specialist
Teri joined Namasté Solar as a full time accountant in 2006, bringing with her a background in small business management and bookkeeping. She has recently moved into a new recruiting role on the Human Resources team, finding a passion for the people side of Namaste Solar’s business. Teri has previously worked for a small software design firm as their business manager. Teri studied business administration at Anna Maria College and transpersonal psychology at Naropa University.
KATHERINE ST. ONGE
Calvert Foundation | Senior Officer, Investor Relations
Katherine is a Senior Officer on the Calvert Foundation’s Investor Relations team. She is responsible for managing relationships with individual investors, institutions and financial advisors to increase their understanding of Calvert Foundation’s impact investing products and services. Prior to Calvert Foundation, Katherine worked at the Aspen Institute where she focused on building entrepreneurial and early-stage investment ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa. She also worked for Louisiana Economic Development, crafting policies and strategies to enhance the state’s economic competitiveness, and Goldman Sachs, managing both equity and fixed-income investment products. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in economics and mathematics from Bucknell University and her M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
KRISTIN HULL, Ph.D.
Nia Community Investment Fund | Founder & Director
Kristin founded Nia Community Investments in 2010. Nia Community is focused on consciously investing for social justice and environmental sustainability in Oakland. She began her career as a bilingual educator and later co-founded the North Oakland Community Charter School. Interested in innovative solutions for social change, Kristin entered the field of impact investing while serving as a board member for various non-profit organizations, including the Mosaic Project and the Nicholson Foundation. In 2013 she partnered with Domini Social Investments to create Nia Global Solutions, an innovative stock portfolio bringing impact investing offerings to Public Markets. In 2015, Nia Global Solutions formed a new partnership with Green Alpha Advisors to provide leadership in sustainable and impact investing for individuals, advisors and institutions. Kristin earned her B.A. and teaching credentials at Tufts University in 1990, her M.A. in Research in Bilingual Education from Stanford University in 1995 and her Ph.D. in Urban Education from the University of California at Berkeley in 2006.
AMY CORTESE
Locavesting | Journalist & Editor
Amy is an award-winning journalist and editor who covers topics spanning business, finance, food, wine and environmental issues. Her work has appeared in the the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, New York, Business Week, the Daily News, Portfolio, Mother Jones, Afar, The American, the Daily Beast, Talk, Business 2.0 and Wired, among other publications. Her book, Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From it (John Wiley & Sons, June 2011), draws upon her experience covering these diverse realms to explore how a small shift in investment away from multinationals towards locally-owned enterprises can reap enormous economic and social benefits for individuals, their communities and the country.
SUZANNE BIEGEL
Catalyst at Large | Founder & Chief Catalyst
Suzanne is founder of Catalyst At Large Ltd and has more than 25 years’ of experience as an entrepreneur, investor, board member, and hands-on operational manager. She is the founder and Chief Catalyst of global investor community Women Effect and is the lead angel and founder of the Clearly Social Angels network in the UK for ClearlySo. She is a Senior Advisor at the Criterion Institute and the Investment Director for the SPRING accelerator. She is the founder of Women in Social Finance, a closed group of mostly senior level women working in the field of social impact finance. Suzanne serves on the board of directors of Confluence Philanthropy. She is a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She is a member of the Wharton Social Impact Investing in Women Advisory Council. She is also on the global advisory board of Cornerstone Capital Management.
Hear what all of these SRI leaders have to share at the Women Invested website.