About Us

Steve Schueth, Chair

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC

Steve Schueth is President of First Affirmative Financial Network, an independent Registered Investment Advisor that provides portfolio management services for socially conscious individuals and mission-driven institutional investors. A nationally recognized authority and resources to the responsible investment industry for nearly 25 years, Steve's background includes a dozen years with First Affirmative, eight years with Calvert Investments, eleven years as a director of US SIF - the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing, and three years as Director of Development for the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the board of the nonprofit Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado and the Americans for Non-Smokers Rights Foundation. He received the social investment industry's "SRI Service Award" in 1998, and has produced and hosted The SRI Conference since 1999 (formerly SRI in the Rockies).

Shelley Alpern

Clean Yield Asset Management

Shelley Alpern joined Clean Yield as Director of Social Research and Advocacy in the fall of 2012. A shareholder advocate for nearly two decades at Trillium Asset Management, she led and participated in numerous advocacy campaigns, many leading to negotiated agreements with leading corporations. For her efforts in promoting inclusive nondiscrimination policies, she was recognized by the Gay Financial Network and Fortune magazine as one of the 25 most powerful lesbians and gay men in business in 2002, and by The Advocate magazine as -?one of our best and brightest activists" in 1999. Her work on phthalates was recognized by the Silent Spring Institute in 2005 with the first ever Rachel Carson Award.

Doug Arent, PhD

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Doug Arent, PhD is Executive Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He specializes in strategic planning and financial analysis competencies; clean energy technologies and energy and water issues; and international and governmental policies. Dr. Arent is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an author and expert reviewer for the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy, serves on the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change, and is on the Executive Council of the U.S. Association of Energy Economists. Back To Top

Madeleine Austin, JD

EthicMark Awards

Madeleine Austin is the Executive Director of the EthicMark® Awards for advertising that uplifts the human spirit and society. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Currents in Commerce, the monthly newsletter of the World Business Academy (WBA), and frequently writes on energy, climate change, economic, and food security issues. As the former Vice President of the WBA, she was responsible for analyzing global and regional issues and trends. Previously, Ms. Austin was a Senior Deputy Attorney General in Hawaii, the Attorney General of the State of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, and counsel to the Governor of Guam.

Jan Bryan, CFP, AIF

First Affirmative Financial Network LLC

Jan Bryan, CFP®, AIF, owns and operates an independent financial planning firm by the same name. She is an investment advisory representative with First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC, an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She has specialized in Socially Responsible Investing since 1990 working with individual clients and trusts to integrate investment needs and planning goals with client's values. Ms. Bryan is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) professional. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Social Investment Forum in 2009. She speaks Spanish and currently works to build community investing in impoverished areas such as Guatemala.

Justin Conway

Calvert Foundation

Justin Conway is the Senior Director of Investment Partnerships at Calvert Foundation, a national nonprofit managing over $400 million in community development, microfinance, and social enterprise investments. He is responsible for business and industry development, manages the firm's financial services and distribution relationships, and works closely with the investors and financial advisors at the forefront of using investment capital for social impact. Prior to Calvert Foundation, Mr. Conway managed the Community Investing Program of the Social Investment Forum and Green America, and worked on human rights issues in both Asia and Central America. He serves on the board of US SIF.

Eric Fernald

MSCI

Eric Fernald is a Vice President at MSCI ESG Research. He is responsible for maintaining MSCI's various ESG Research product methodologies: MSCI's ESG risk and sustainability ratings, ESG Impact Monitor controversy analysis, and ESG Business Involvement service. Mr. Fernald joined MSCI ESG Research in 2010 when MSCI acquired KLD Research & Analytics. He worked at KLD from 1995 through 2009. Prior to joining KLD, Eric studied and taught Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and worked for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Bennett Freeman

Calvert Investments

As Senior Vice President for Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Investments, Bennett Freeman leads the environmental, social and governance research, shareholder advocacy and public policy work of the largest family of sustainable and responsible (SRI) mutual funds in the U.S. He has contributed significantly to Calvert's leadership on issues such as Sudan divestment; extractive revenue transparency; Internet freedom of expression and privacy; water sustainability; climate change adaptation; and gender diversity in Corporate America. Mr. Freeman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as a presidential appointee in three positions at the U.S. Department of State in the Clinton Administration.

Bob Fulmer, PhD

World Business Academy

Bob Fulmer, PhD, is academic director for Duke Corporate Education, Professor Emeritus at the College of William & Mary, and a Fellow of the World Business Academy. A specialist in strategic leadership development, he is author or co-author of over 150 articles (in such periodicals as Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Wall Street Journal and Business Week) and almost 40 business books, monographs and editions. He served as president of two consulting firms. As an academic, he has held endowed chairs at Trinity, William & Mary, and Pepperdine, taught management and leadership at Columbia and Emory Universities and was a Visiting Scholar at MIT. Back To Top

Lisa Hayles

EIRIS

Lisa Hayles is Head of Client Services (North America) at EIRIS. Founded in 1983, EIRIS provides research on corporate environmental, social, governance (ESG) and other ethical performance indicators to more than 150 institutional investors around the world. In her current role, Ms. Hayles supports institutional fund managers and pension funds in North America seeking to implement a variety of Responsible Investment (RI) strategies in their investment processes. She also serves as a resource person on RI issues to several independent investment committees. She joined EIRIS in November 2003 and previously worked at the Social Investment Organization in Toronto, Canada where she was assistant director.

Bob Helmuth

Pax World Investments

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. Back To Top

Sonya Hetrick

Sonya Hetrick worked as an analyst for Google and has a strong background in both traditional investment analysis and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analysis. Previously, she worked as a research analyst at KLD Research & Analytics and interned at Calvert Investments, where she wrote briefs for institutional investors in support of Calvert's shareholder resolutions. Ms. Hetrick is the recipient of Amnesty International USA's -"Patrick Steward Human Rights Award" for her volunteer work in India, and Thailand. She first began research on socially responsible investing while attending American University on a full tuition academic scholarship.

Bruce Kahn

Columbia University

Bruce Kahn, PhD, is a Lecturer at Columbia University's Earth Institute in the Sustainability Management Program. He has over 25 years of experience in environmental and investment research and management. He was a Director in Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division where he acted as an investment strategist conducting high-level analytical research on sustainable investing. Previously, he managed assets at Smith Barney's Private Wealth Management Group in sustainable investments. Recently Dr. Kahn has joined the Advisory Council of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. He is a recipient of both a J. William Fulbright Scholarship and a National Science Foundation Fellowship in ecological economics.

Krystala Kalil

The SRI Conference

Krystala Kalil is the Conference Coordinator of The SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing. She joined the conference production team in 2004. She has an extensive background in conference planning, choosing to work with conferences that reflect her core values. Just prior to The SRI Conference, Ms. Kalil was the Sponsor and Media Liaison for the International Conference on Science and Consciousness, and the International Conference on Business and Consciousness. Ms. Kalil has been an educator, psychotherapist, project manager and sculptor.

Rina Levy

Bloomberg

Rina Levy is presently an ESG analyst at Bloomberg. Her duties include working with clients and corporations to improve transparency and disclosure of ESG data. Prior to joining the ESG team, she worked as a Fundamental Analyst covering North American oil and gas companies. Ms. Levy has been a steering committee member of The Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN) working group of US SIF since 2009. She sits on the Sustainable Education & Company Engagement, and Membership & Outreach Sub-Committees. Back To Top

Dan Porter

IW Financial

Dan Porter is co-founder and Vice President of Marketing at IW Financial, a provider of ESG research, consulting and portfolio management solutions. Prior to IW Financial, Mr. Porter served as President at the Center for Educational Media, a communications firm that served a broad range of clients including PBS, the Houghton Mifflin Company, and the U.S. EPA. He has spent more than twenty years in the communications field. During that time he founded and managed both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Mr. Porter co-founded KIDS Consortium, a leading service-learning non-profit organization. He has lectured extensively on media bias and critical viewing skills.

Annie White

Sustainalytics

Annie White is a sustainability research manager with Sustainalytics. Her primary responsibility is researching the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and performance of various publicly traded companies. She is also responsible for researching and monitoring global standards, best practices, market trends and the changing regulatory environment. Ms. White currently manages a team of five analysts. In addition, she is the team leader for Sustainalytics' annual publication of leading ESG companies in partnership with Maclean's and Newsweek magazines. Previously, she managed the Toronto internship program. Prior to joining Sustainalytics, Ms. White worked as an analyst with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C. Back To Top

Erik Wohlgemuth

The Future 500

Erik Wohlgemuth is the Chief Operating Officer of The Future 500 where he oversees North American operations and corporate-NGO engagements across the organization's core programs of Energy, Water, Recycling & Product Stewardship, and Labor & Transparency. He has focused his career on finding common ground between corporations and NGOs. Mr. Wohlgemuth has worked with a broad range of industries -" chemical, energy, consumer products, automotive, high-tech, clean tech, biomaterials -" and numerous NGOs focusing on a range of social and environmental issues. He is adept at seeing and cultivating opportunities to connect organizations and bring people together to advance innovative approaches toward solving complex sustainability challenges. Back To Top