Panelists and Moderators
Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D.
Dean, George N. Jean Ph.D. Chair and Professor of Marketing
Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business
Lerzan Aksoy is dean, George N. Jean Ph.D. chair and professor of marketing at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. From 2015 to 2022 she served as associate dean of Undergraduate Studies and Strategic Initiatives.
She is the 2022 recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Christopher Lovelock Career Contributions to the Services Discipline Award for teaching, research, and service that has had the greatest long-term impact on the development of the services discipline. This is the highest award presented in the field of service marketing.
She is author of the NY Times bestseller The Wallet Allocation Rule and author/editor of four other books on customer loyalty. Her research has been published in top tier journals in marketing (e.g., Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Interactive Marketing), strategy (e.g., Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review) and service research (e.g., Journal of Service Research and Journal of Service Management). Her research has received more than a dozen prestigious awards, including:
- Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award from the Journal of Marketing for the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing.
- Citations of Excellence "Top 50" Award (top 50 management papers of approximately 20,000 papers reviewed that year) from Emerald Management Reviews.
- Robert Johnston Outstanding Paper Award (3 times) from the Journal of Service Management
- Next Gen Disruptive Innovation Award
She currently serves as president of the Academic Council of the AMA (American Marketing Association), which oversees the academic programming of the association. Dean Aksoy served as co-chair of AMA SERVSIG (American Marketing Association - Service Special Interest Group) from 2014 - 2018 and worked with Filene Research Institute from 2012 - 2016, and 2021 to present conducting research with US credit unions.
Dean Aksoy is a Fulbright scholar. She received a Ph.D. in marketing from the Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, an M.B.A. from George Mason University, and a B.S. in Business Administration from Hacettepe University (Ankara, Turkey).
SaVonne Anderson ‘17
CEO, Aya Paper Co.
SaVonne Anderson, a Newark native and Fordham University graduate, began her career at a contemporary Black art museum in NYC, becoming its first in-house designer since the 80s. In 2020, she transitioned to full-time entrepreneurship as the CEO of Aya Paper Co., a nationally recognized greeting card and gift company. Her unique approach, bridging sustainability, business, and design, has earned her features in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Refinery 29, and other prominent outlets. Under Anderson's leadership, Aya Paper Co. has gained widespread acclaim, with products featured in hundreds of retailers nationwide, including Nordstrom, Macy's, Whole Foods, and Kohls. The brand has been highlighted in Allure, Time, Parade, Architectural Digest, on CNN, and many more outlets. Anderson's commitment to celebrating Black joy is evident in Aya Paper Co.'s artistic imagery and authentic messages, addressing the underrepresentation of people of color in the greeting card industry. In addition to her entrepreneurial success, Anderson actively contributes to the education and empowerment of emerging creatives and entrepreneurs, further solidifying her impact on the landscape of Black entrepreneurship.
Al Bartosic ’84, ‘23
Executive Director, Fordham Foundry
Albert J. Bartosic is the executive director of the Fordham Foundry. He is a serial entrepreneur who has extensive experience with fundraising, management, finance, and operations. He was the CEO of Standing Stone, (a startup he co-founded), which is a medical software company focused on subspecialty clinical decision support, now part of Abbott. Bartosic has worked across diverse industries, including private equity, financial services, consumer products, technology, entertainment, and public accounting. He advises startups, is an angel investor, serves on the boards of Ridgefield Academy and other nonprofits, and is a director of Zoomph, a social media analytics company. A certified public accountant, Bartosic holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Fordham University, an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, and a B.S. in Public Accounting from Fordham University.
Mohit Bhargava
Partner/Principal, Climate Change and Sustainability Services Practice, EY
Mohit Bhargava is a partner/principal in the Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice of EY, and leads projects related to developing ESG based strategy, transformation, and reporting. As one of EY’s ESG practice Leaders (Environmental, Social, and Governance), he has more than 20 years of experience working with global public and private companies on all ESG related matters. He provides ESG advisory services and has served as a subject matter resource for ESG related assurance services as well. Bhargava has served with EY in the capacity of ESG leader in the Life Sciences sector for the past five years. He currently is leading projects with some of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies to develop their ESG strategy, implement ESG programs for regulatory reporting, and assess climate risk according to the TCFD guidelines. In addition to his experience in the life sciences sector and in ESG, he also has operational excellence, and health and safety projects expertise. Bhargava also has worked internationally on projects not just related to ESG program development and implementation but also on conducting ESG-based risk assessments and sustainable sourcing reviews.
Charles Boakye
Sustainability & Transition - Equity Analyst
Jeffries
Charles Boakye joined Jefferies in 2021, with several years of researching the energy transition and climate change more broadly. As part of the broader Sustainability & Transition Strategy team at Jeffreies, Boakye currently leads the Americas research and advisory efforts for investors and corporates on the energy transition. His immediate role prior to Jefferies was as a research analyst at UBS Group AG.
Prior to joining Equity Research, Boakye spent his initial career in financial services at JPMorgan and Nomura, among others, and focused on both cash and equity derivatives. Together with the Jefferies Sustainability & Transition team, he brings thought-leading analyses of sustainability, net-zero, power, and energy markets, and the broader energy transition. Boakye is a CFA charterholder, holds a Bsc. in Mathematics with actuarial, and an Msc. in Intl. Financial Markets.
Margot Brandenburg
Senior Program Officer, Mission Investments Team, Ford Foundation
Margot Brandenburg is a senior program officer on the Ford Foundation’s Mission Investments team, focused on building and strengthening the infrastructure of the impact investment market—with an eye to shaping the broader capital markets. She has spent two decades working at the intersection of philanthropy, capital markets, and social and environmental justice.
Prior to joining Ford, Brandenburg served as founder and CEO of MyStrongHome, a benefit corporation delivering resilience finance services to homeowners across the Southeast and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Before that, she helped design and lead the impact investing initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation. She co-authored the book The Power of Impact Investing with former RF president Judith Rodin. While at the Rockefeller Foundation, she also focused on job creation and issues of economic security for low-wage workers.
Brandenburg began her career in international microfinance and has worked with several community development finance institutions in the U.S. She serves on the boards of the Workers Lab, Brooklyn Cooperative Credit Union, and the Woodcock Foundation, and as an adviser to the National Domestic Workers Alliance, as well as the National Energy Improvement Fund.
She earned a master’s degree in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
Rachel Ceruti ’20
Director of Partnerships, Education, & Outreach
FABSCRAP
Rachel Ceruti recently merged her community-based circular fashion business, Reclypt, with FABSCRAP, joining the team as its inaugural director of partnerships, outreach, and education. Ceruti is an award-winning leader with a global perspective, leveraging her experience in the Peace Corps and sustainable finance, to become a key player in the circular fashion space in New York City. Fueled by her passion for waste reduction and exceptional community building skills, she has a proven track record of engaging diverse peoples in the mission of waste reduction through community action, volunteerism, and education.
Robert Colorina
Director, AIAC Group
Robert Colorina is a director and sits on a number of portfolio boards at AIAC Group, a holding company of industrial and technology investments with presence in over 20 countries and U.S. states. He has experience working with multinational companies, including Boeing, EMC, Merrill Lynch Capital, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Siemens AG, Suez Europe, United Technologies. He also is on the executive committee of Minorities in Restructuring and Alternative Investments, an industry diversity initiative.
Colorina has previously served on Governor-appointed policy boards for the Commonwealth of Virginia (United Nations; Asia-Chair; and State Police) and alumni boards for the University of Virginia, from which he graduated. His prior experience includes Bank of America Investment Banking, Keppel Group, and Ford Motor Company.
Anna Hammond
CEO, Matriark Foods
Anna Hammond is the founder and CEO of Matriark Foods. Matriark upcycles farm surplus and vegetable trim from fresh-cut facilities into healthy products for food service: schools, hospitals, corporate cafeterias, foodbanks—simultaneously diverting waste from landfills while creating greater access to healthy food. Matriark has participated in the Food Systems 6 accelerator, the Huhtamaki Circular Economy program, and the Kroger Zero Waste Zero Hunger accelerator for which they won the peer-selected investment. Matriark was also selected to participate in the Foodbuy accelerator program for minority and women-owned businesses and has national distribution with Sysco and US Foods. Before launching Matriark, Hammond built a healthy eating program for youth and families living in public housing in New York City.
Kamil Homsi
CEO, GRC Investments Group
Kamil Homsi, is the CEO at GRC Investments Group, a single-family office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he oversees the health of the global investments’ portfolios, capital preservation, and growth. With over 40 years of invaluable transaction-centric expertise in capital markets, alternative investments, and cross-border capital allocation and deal structuring,
Homsi is a seasoned executive who speaks many languages and is the epitome of a global entrepreneur. He is a well-known expert in conducting dispute resolution and crisis management leading to amicable and fair results. His skills in the sectors of real estate, renewable energy, and waste management investments among other sectors, and his participation in international conferences made him a recognized speaker on a global scale.
Homsi is fully versed in cross border capital placement regulations, tax incentives and in vetting foreign nationals seeking investments abroad (i.e., BEPS, GDPR, JETRO, CCPA, SFDR, TCFD, CSRD, FIRPTA, CFIUS, AML, FIRRMA, KYC, GRI, etc.). He engages extensively with financially accredited multi-national investors, influential HNW families, and C-Suite executives in providing firms and board members with vertical growth advisory. His involvement in the family office space has gained him recognition for his dynamic macroeconomic vision, family office structure, succession, estate planning, mentoring programs, and philanthropy.
Homsi also possesses a unique ability to form and maintain long-lasting business alliances by involving multidisciplinary teams of professionals having extensive global networks. Global Realty Capital LLC is the GRC Investment Group onshore office headquartered in New York City. Its main goals are to uncover investment opportunities, ODD/valuation, qualifying potential partners, negotiate contracts, and oversee operations during holding periods to ensure the success of his investments.
Alan Horowitz, J.D.
Vice President of Sustainability, Aramark
Alan Horowitz is vice president of sustainability at Aramark, a leading global provider of food and facilities services. He and his team are responsible for leading the development and delivery of the company’s sustainability commitments and targets, including Aramark’s enterprise-wide efforts to minimize food waste, minimize the use of single-use plastics, and deliver ambitious carbon reduction goals. Horowitz also is responsible for leading the company’s ESG governance, stakeholder engagement, data management, and reporting programs, including the publication of Aramark’s annual Be Well. Do Well. Progress Report. Prior to joining Aramark in 2022, Hammond spent 20 years at AstraZeneca in the U.S. and the U.K, initially as the company’s in-house environmental counsel and later as its global VP of sustainability. Hammond also built and led a sustainability team at Microsoft before co-founding Green Street USA, a start-up focused on helping Main Street-type enterprises embrace and embed sustainability.
Rachel Hurley
Head of Sustainability, Paine Schwartz Partners.
Rachel Hurley is the head of sustainability at Paine Schwartz Partners, where she is responsible for oversight of sustainability at Paine Schwartz and its portfolio companies including diligence, value creation, and reporting.
Prior to joining Paine Schwartz, Hurley served on the ESG team at Blackstone, where she was responsible for supporting the firm’s corporate ESG strategy, as well as LP engagement on a variety of ESG topics. Prior to this role, she served on the ESG team at Apollo Global Management, where she was responsible for Apollo’s ESG Reporting Program and supported the development of the firm’s ESG strategy, while also engaging with portfolio companies on ESG-related topics. Hurley began her ESG and sustainability career at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison on behalf of Apollo, and previously worked in asset management at Partners Group, where she focused on fund marketing. She is a graduate of New York University.
Al Iannuzzi, Ph.D.
Vice President of Sustainability, The Estée Lauder Companies
Al Iannuzzi is vice president, sustainability, at The Estée Lauder Companies, where he directs enterprise-wide sustainability strategy, goals, and objectives. He oversees climate and energy, building operations, and product sustainability programs and supports brands with their sustainability initiatives. He also is an adjunct professor at Indiana University—Purdue University, where he teaches product improvement and sustainability.
Iannuzzi also has more than 35 years’ of experience in the environment, health, safety and sustainability field. Prior to working at The Estée Lauder Companies, he worked for Johnson & Johnson, where he led design for the Environment and Green Marketing programs and developed sustainability strategies for the consumer product, medical device and pharmaceutical sectors. He served as the chief architect of the Earthwards® greener product development program. He also has worked as an environmental consultant and as a regulator for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Iannuzzi has authored four books, his latest: Greener Products: The Making & Marketing of Sustainable Brands (2024) and has written numerous articles on sustainability and product stewardship.
Karen Y. Johns
CEO, Net Impact
Karen Y. Johns is the CEO of Net Impact, the largest global hub of Gen Z talent, with over 300 Net Impact Chapters located across 40 countries worldwide. The organization offers resources to university students and young professionals to take action so they can make a positive impact on people and the planet.
Johns is a seasoned professional in the education and nonprofit arena, with expertise in fostering business development and philanthropy. She has assisted a wide variety of organizations—from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands.
A graduate of Tufts University, Johns is the founder of the Tufts Black Alumni Association and remains an active alumna. She is a native of Jamaica and serves in an advisory capacity with several Caribbean-based organizations.
Vicky Lay
Partner, Head of Impact & Director, VCaaS at Artesian
Vicky Lay is a partner, head of impact & director, VCaaS at Artesian, a global alternative and impact investment management firm, based in New York. She joined Artesian’s VC business in 2015. She is focused on directing Artesian’s, and its investors’, capital, innovation, and human endeavor towards positive social and environmental outcomes. She sits on the Investment Committees of Artesian VC funds.
Lay works with family offices, corporates, and governments to access the financial & strategic returns (including impact outcomes) of the innovation ecosystem. She also led Artesian’s B-Corporation accreditation process and built out the firm’s impact measurement, management, and reporting infrastructure from the ground up.
Previously, she co-founded Zookal, a Silicon Valley venture-backed EdTech company and helped to scale the business 10x year-on-year as its chief operating officer.
Lay has a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Management) and Bachelor of Arts of International Studies (Chinese Language & Culture) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
She was recognized as a Forbes Asia 30 under 30 recipient in 2017.
Peter Lupoff ’86
Founder and Principal, Lupoff/Stevens Family Office
Director of Strategy, Gabelli School of Business Responsible Business Center
Peter Lupoff is the founder and principal of Lupoff/Stevens Family Office, the holding company of the various activities of the family, including investments, social and environmental programmatic activations, and grants. Their investment mandate, grant-making, and policy objectives support social and climate equity and justice. Lupoff was formerly the CEO of Net Impact, a 30-year-old non-profit, with a mission to inspire, equip, and activate emerging leaders to build a more just and sustainable world. He also was CEO of GOOD Institute, which addresses important issues, driving social action and reimagining the possibilities for our shared future by charting a new contract between business and society. Since 2016, Lupoff has taught impact investing classes as a special lecturer at Yale School of Management and Fordham University. In his role as director of strategy, he guides the Gabelli School’s Responsible Business Center towards strategic alignment to achieve purposeful impact.
James Manfredonia, ‘83
CEO, Big Tree Financials
James Manfredonia is a 40 veteran of Wall Street with a career spanning consequential cultural, economic, and financial market cycles. He managed global institutional trading at Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns and has advised numerous companies, emerging entities, and non-profits. Manfredonia has had his own hedge fund and managed portfolios for institutions, endowments and individuals. His current work includes advising an international fintech enterprise and a newly formed SEC entity, the Green Impact Exchange, where listing is based upon IFRS standards. He worked closely with Bloomberg to develop their ESG certificate. He is now the CEO of the wealth management firm, Fig Tree Financials.
Manfredonia became an educator eight years ago. He has taught at a charter high school, was interim head at a school for severely disabled students, taught in Manhattan's private school system, and is now a finance professor at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business where he was recently awarded the Dean’s Teacher Excellence Award. He has worked with the youth of Covenant House for three decades and has been on the boards of the Yogi Berra Museum and the New York City Ballet among, as well as participating in other philanthropic efforts. He is a New York native, a Fordham University graduate, and the father of three.
Esther Na
Corporate Grantmaker, Salesforce
Based in New York, Esther Nai is a corporate grantmaker at Salesforce. In this role, she manages climate philanthropic grantmaking with a focus on accelerating a just transition to a net zero and nature positive world. With over a decade of experience in the technology sector, she has led corporate social impact initiatives across Asia Pacific and North America. Outside of Salesforce, she serves on the board of EcoRise, a nonprofit delivering environmental education in K-12 classrooms across the country.
Barbara Porco, Ph.D. ’99, ‘03
Professor of Accounting and Taxation, Associate Dean of Graduate Students, Executive Director of the Center for Professional Accounting Practices, Gabelli School of Business;
Managing Director, Gabelli School of Business Responsible Business Center
Barbara Porco has been a professor of accounting and taxation at Fordham University for more than 25 years. She specializes in ESG reporting literacy and teaches courses that prepare students for FSA certification. Porco holds an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Fordham, and a master’s degree in sustainability and environmental management from Harvard University. She is the associate dean of graduate students and the executive director of the Center for Professional Accounting Practices (CPAP), which promotes collaboration among accounting, auditing, tax, and forensics professionals and business and legal scholars. Under her leadership, she has developed academic relationships with organizations committed to sustainability literacy and disclosure such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (Value Reporting Foundation/SASB Legacy), One Young World, Datamaran, and Chartered Accountants Worldwide USA.
Porco is a CPA and is certified in financial forensics by the AICPA and proudly serves as a One Young World Partner executive and MIT En-ROADS climate ambassador. She also is the author of the award-winning KPMG Ethical Compass Toolkit: Integrity in Business, which focuses on sustainability reporting in its latest installment. Porco is the managing director of the Gabelli School of Business Responsible Business Center.
Michael Scanlon
Managing Director of the Sustainable Finance Practice
Silver Leaf Partners
Michael Scanlon is managing director of the Sustainable Finance Practice at Silver Leaf Partners, a FINRA Broker Dealer. A sustainable finance early adopter, since 2014, he consults with and actively markets to a wide spectrum of institutional allocators, predominantly in North America. He is marketing to and doing business development with a core group of faith and values-based investors, foundations, and endowments; large multi-family offices; OCIO; and consultants who are focused and prioritizing their allocations into ESG-Sustainable finance investments. Throughout his career, Scanlon has developed a deep and significant institutional allocator and asset manager base of relationships, with a seasoned and unique set of insights, into the dynamic asset flows occurring in the public/private equity, debt, hedge funds and infrastructure arenas. The “Circular Economy“ in finance, institutionally, has been his active commitment and focus, for the last decade. An honors graduate of Boston College, Scanlon lives in Nyack, NY, is a proud father of three girls and two granddaughters, and is a member of Winged Foot Golf Club. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 registrations.
Kelly Shue, Ph.D.
Professor of Finance, Yale University
Professor Kelly Shue's academic interests lie at the intersection of behavioral economics and empirical corporate finance. She is a director of the European Finance Association and the Financial Research Association, as well as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She currently serves as an associate editor at the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Corporate Finance Studies. Shue previously served as an editor at the Review of Finance and associate editor at Management Science. Prior to joining Yale, she was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and B.A. in Applied Mathematics also from Harvard University.
Dave Stangis
Partner and Chief Sustainability Officer, Apollo
Dave Stangis is partner and chief sustainability officer at Apollo, where he oversees the firm’s cross-functional sustainability efforts including strategy, reporting, ESG, climate initiatives, and employee engagement. He also is a member of the firm’s leadership team. Prior to joining Apollo, Stangis founded 21C Impact, an advisory firm dedicated to delivering a differentiated impact on business results with a focus on ESG and corporate sustainability initiatives. Previously, he was chief sustainability officer at Campbell Soup Company, where he created and led the company’s ESG, Corporate Citizenship, Sustainability & Public Affairs strategies. Stangis joined Campbell from Intel Corporation, where he served as the company’s first global director of corporate responsibility. He currently serves as a mentor to the AgFunder Network and as an instructor in Villanova University’s Sustainable Enterprise Executive Education program. He previously served as executive adviser at the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson College. Stangis earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Detroit Mercy, and M.S. in Occupational & Environmental Health from Wayne State University, and an M.B.A. in Finance and General Management from the University of Michigan
Jennifer Silberman
SVP, Chief Sustainability Officer, Dollar Tree
Jennifer Silberman joined Dollar Tree as chief sustainability officer in October 2022. Prior to Dollar Tree, Silberman served in leadership roles at YETI, Hilton, and Target. Additionally, she has held corporate responsibility executive and consultant roles with APCO Worldwide working with Fortune 100 companies, NGOs, corporate and private foundations, government, and trade associations.
Silberman earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in international economic and Latin American studies from The John Hopkins University Paul H Nitze School of Advances International Studies (SAIS). She serves as board chair for GOOD Institute and is a board member of Keep America Beautiful.
Lauren Sweeney ’12
Co-founder and CEO, DeliverZero
Entrepreneur in Residence, Fordham Foundry
Lauren Sweeney, co-founder and CEO of DeliverZero, is committed to making reuse the norm. Her early work in an eco-friendly cafe sparked her interest in composting and reuse. Later, in the startup world, she saw technology-driven convenience increase waste. As a single mom, Sweeney often relied on takeout but was frustrated by wasteful packaging. This led her to co-found DeliverZero, offering takeout in returnable, reusable containers. Over the past three years, Sweeney has become a vocal advocate for reuse, partnering with companies like DoorDash, Whole Foods, and Uber. She also has dedicated herself to pushing for legislation on single-use packaging and has been invited to speak at key events, including a White House announcement on plastics reduction. As Entrepreneur in Residence at the Fordham Foundry, she mentors Fordham student and alumni entrepreneurs.
James Teague ‘07, ‘13
Clinical Professor
Fordham University Gabelli School of Business
James Teague is a dedicated faculty member at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business where he teaches the Community Engaged Learning (CEL) Ground Floor course for first-year students and Principles of Management for second-year undergraduate students at the Gabelli School of Business. With a robust educational background that includes a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration and a Master’s in Educational Administration and Supervision from Fordham University, and a Master’s in Irish Studies from NYU, Teague brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the classroom.
In addition to his academic role, he is a partner at POTS (Part of the Solution), an organization dedicated to addressing the needs of the Bronx community. His humanitarian efforts were recognized with the Fr. Ned Murphy, S.J. Award, underscoring his commitment to social justice and community service.
The immigrant experience is one of great importance to Teague. He has been actively working with migrants in the NYC area to help them learn English. This has not only enriched his understanding of the migration journey, but has also provided an opportunity for immersion in the Spanish language.
Teague is passionate about education and committed to making a positive impact both in and out of the classroom.
Dan Ufnar
State Soil Scientist, USDA-NRCS
Since July of 2022, Dan Ufnar has served as the state soil scientist for USDA-NRCS in New York stationed in Syracuse. He has been a professional soil scientist for over 20 years and has worked in Arkansas, Washington, and Michigan before coming to New York. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1999, after double majoring in soil science and environmental science. Ufnar earned an M.S. in Soil Science in 2004 from Washington State University.
Greg Van Kirk
Founder, Collaborative Changemaking Labs
Greg Van Kirk is a two-time Ashoka Globalizer Fellow and a World Economic Forum "Social Entrepreneur of the Year for 2012 (Latin America)." He's the principal designer of the award-winning MicroConsignment Model, now being applied globally. Over the course of 20+ years he’s founded, led, and/or consulted for dozens of organizations, teams, and communities in 25+ countries. Consulting engagements include organizations such as Levi Strauss Foundation, Visa Foundation, Warby Parker, Deloitte, and USAID, Chemonics, Inter-American Development Bank, and IFC, among others. In addition, Van Kirk has designed and led student programming for universities including Columbia University, Duke University, University of Notre Dame, Northwestern University, and Georgetown University, among others. He has designed (social) entrepreneurial experiences, taught courses, and led workshops for thousands of students and professionals. He also contributes time as “Social Entrepreneur in Residence” at universities and has taught at Columbia University, NYU, Miami University, UNH, Fordham University, and the University of Wisconsin. He recently was a senior advisor for the Miami University Institute for Entrepreneurship.
Van Kirk worked in rural small business development as a Guatemala Peace Corps volunteer in 2001. He worked in investment banking for five years before arriving in Guatemala. Two deals he led at UBS during this time won "Deal of the Year" honors from Structured Finance International magazine.
Van Kirk recently published It’s What You Set In Motion: A Toolbox for Collaborative Changemaking.
Mike Wallace
Chief Decarbonization Officer (CDO), Persefoni
Mike Wallace is an internationally recognized expert with nearly 30 years of experience in sustainability, ESG reporting/compliance, and managing social and human capital issues. He currently serves as the chief decarbonization officer at Persefoni, a carbon accounting technology company, where he oversees strategic partnerships to help with the integration and application of the company’s climate accounting and management platform (CMAP). Prior to joining Persefoni, Wallace was a partner at the global sustainability consultancy, ERM, where he counseled clients on corporate responsibility and sustainability solutions and helped shape several strategic partnerships for ERM. In that role, Wallace also served as the interim executive director for the Social & Human Capital Coalition, a multi-stakeholder project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). His work included overseeing the establishment of the overall governance structure, technical council, and global network that drove the creation of the Social & Human Capital Protocol, which was officially launched at GreenBiz 2019 by the founders WBCSD, Nasdaq, and Microsoft. Prior to ERM, Wallace was a director for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), where he worked on foundational initiatives such as the International Integrated Reporting Council (IRRC), the European Commission proposal on corporate ESG reporting, and the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEi) on ESG listing guidance.
Amy Wang
Managing Director (Head of Private Capital),
Blue Earth Capital
Amy Wang leads Blue Earth Capital’s private credit business and sits on the firm’s executive committee. She joined the company as part of the founding team and has nearly two decades of industry experience. Prior to joining Blue Earth Capital, she worked at Deutsche Bank’s Sustainable Investments group, Grassroots Business Fund, Centinela Capital Partners, and Citigroup Corporate Investment Bank. She holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; an M.A. in International Affairs from The Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania; and a Bachelor of Science from Carnegie Mellon University.