Spring 2011 Speakers
Lisa Gansky is, at heart, a marketect and “im-pact junky” with a strong interest in breaking the edges of formerly happy business models and bringing together not-so-likely characters in the form of new offerings, teams and partnerships. As CEO, co-founder and chairman of Ofoto, Lisa drew on her entrepreneurial spirit and experience developing global web services. Lisa & the team worked to develop Ofoto into a world-class consumer services offering which she left once Kodak Gallery reached over 45M customers in 2005. In addition to her roles at Ofoto and EastmanKodak, she was a Co-founder and CEO of GNN, the first commercial website, acquired by AOL in 1995 where she then directed Internet Services for AOL through 1997. Lisa has been an investor and board member of more than twenty internet and mobile services companies. Currently, Lisa serves as a board member and investor of MePlease, Squidoo, TasteBook, and Dos Margaritas, an environmental foundation. She is an advisor/investor in several new ventures including: New Resource Bank, Slide, Instructables, Nuko toys, AddisCreson, and Greenbiz. She is also a speaker and the author of "The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing."
Andrew Zolli is a futures researcher who studies complex forces at the intersection of technology, sustainability and global society that are shaping our future. He is the Curator of PopTech, (poptech.org) the thought leadership and social innovation network, which has pioneered new programs to train social innovators and scientists, and spurred significant advances in mobile healthcare, education, sustainability, and a number of related fields. In 2012, Andrew’s next book Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back, will be published by RandomHouse.
James is a specialist in helping multinational corporations innovate. With the Imaginals team, he helps them become more environmentally sustainable and deliver positive social impact in the communities they work with. Delivering innovation and sustainability strategy to Fortune 500 businesses across the globe has required him to build expertise in how incumbent cultures respond to change and the different approaches required to successfully take an innovation strategy off the page and to scale. James’ background is in Product Innovation and Design. Although much of his work is strategic innovation at the fuzzy front end, he has also won many awards for Interaction Design, Advertising and Directing documentary films and also produced a live comedy TV show every Wednesday for three years. Imaginals is based in London. Its client portfolio includes Shell, Barclays Bank and Nike.
At B Lab, Beth is overseeing the launch of GIIRS (the Global Impact Investing Ratings System). GIIRS is a ratings agency that provides companies and funds with social and environmental performance ratings. Beth has worked closely with social entrepreneurs and social enterprise throughout her career. Beth has held roles at Self-Help, a leading community development bank, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a non-profit that supports social entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries, and the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust in Cape Town, South Africa. Beth grew up outside of Boston and earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her MBA from Kenan-Flagler. Beth now lives in Carrboro, NC with her husband Steven.
Rae leads RPA’s San Francisco office and has more than fifteen years experience providing services to organizations of all sizes, from local nonprofits to Fortune 100 global corporations. Her funding expertise includes climate change and environmental protection, education, and cultural preservation, with focused work in Israel and China. She has also been actively involved in RPA’s leadership on the issue of Mission Related Investing (MRI). Rae is formerly a consultant with expertise in corporate social responsibility, meeting facilitation and organizational development. Prior to starting her own consultancy for values-based organizations, she was Senior Manager of Consulting Services at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), working with Fortune 500 companies to facilitate their stakeholder engagement efforts, assist them in implementing more socially responsible policies and practices, and provide counsel on issues of global corporate community engagement. She received her BA from the University of Virginia and her MBA from the UC Berkeley/Columbia University Executive MBA program. Rae serves as a Board Member and Officer of the Black Rock Arts Foundation.
Tim is an innovator in new financial instruments in the social enterprise sector. Over the last fourteen years, he has served in a number of capacities at Calvert Social Investment Foundation, including his current role as Special Consultant. While there, Tim conceived of and launched the Giving Fund – the $55 million impact investment-based donor advised fund which has been spun out to a new organization, ImpactAssets, for which he serves as President. He was also instrumental in building the $225 million Calvert Community Investment Note sourced from 12,000 investors large and small (with more than $750 million invested into 300+ nonprofits and for profits globally), and helped launch Community Investment Partners, an analysis and asset administration group for community development and social enterprise investment with $300 million under administration. He co-founded and serves as Managing Partner for Good Capital, which in addition to its flagship Social Enterprise Expansion Fund LP, has two operating spin outs, the 1,500 person annual SOCAP Conference and Hub Bay Area, a co-working, meeting and community space for 800 social innovators.
Esther joined RSF in 2005 and became the Director of the Lending Program in 2007 to oversee the growth of the organization’s lending activities to social enterprises nationally. Esther is responsible for the strategic development of the Lending Program and the expansion of its offerings along the risk spectrum, and manages a six-member team. Previously, Esther was a senior consultant for ShoreBank Advisory Services, where she provided strategic and financial planning advice for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), particularly small business and affordable-housing loan funds. She also trained lenders internationally in small business lending practices, and underwrote Program Related Investments (PRIs) for private foundation clients.
In 2002, Dr. Joy Anderson founded Criterion Ventures, a national firm that identifies, examines and solves system social problems by launching social ventures – either for clients or as entrepreneurs. Criterion brings to the work a wealth of connections, the methodology and savvy to navigate complexity, and a commitment to creating social impact. In 2006 Joy, Tim Freundlich and Kevin Jones founded Good Capital LLC, an asset management firm seeking to move capital to good. Prior to Criterion, Joy worked for Growth Design, a national consulting firm focusing on fundraising and strategic planning for large nonprofit systems. Joy holds a BA from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in American History from New York University. She sits on the Board of the Lutheran Community Foundation and is the Board Chair for Village Capital. She lives with her husband and daughter in Connecticut.
As Managing Director of Criterion Ventures, Jackie leads major initiatives in various areas of social change. Her focus includes shaping social capital markets to generate powerful results for women and girls, creating markets for sustainable fisheries, and leveraging the church's assets for social change. Previously Jackie was Vice President of Business Development at iBasis, growing the internet telecommunications firm from start-up stage to $1 billion. She also cofounded WORK IN PROGRESS, a social enterprise and was part of the founding team of Good Capital. Her understanding of the interrelated aspects of social change was formed as a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Congress and her strategy skills as a management consultant for CSC Index. Jackie holds a mathematics degree from Calvin College and an MBA from the University of Michigan, where she was at the founding meeting of Net Impact. She serves on the vestry at Trinity Church, Copley Square and the Advisory Board for the Social Venture Fund at Ross and Prosperity Candle.
Christie is the Director of New Media Ventures, the first national network of early-stage investors who invest their time and money into startups focused on building progressive change. Previously she was based in London as a consultant to think tanks, international development organizations and media startups. Christie started her career at a venture capital firm during the dot-com boom (and bust) and has extensive media experience, including six years managing sales and marketing efforts for Women Make Movies, the world's leading distributor of films by and about women. She is co-founder and on the Advisory Board of LoudSauce.com, a crowdfunded media-buying platform for ideas that matter. Christie received her MBA with distinction from the University of Oxford where she was a Skoll Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship and graduated with the Said Prize, awarded annually to the class's top student. She received her BA from Yale University.
Nikhil works at First Light Ventures in Atlanta, Georgia where he serves as an analyst. He first became interested in the impact investing space through his experience with the Unreasonable Institute, of which he was a co-founder. Before that, he pursued his entrepreneurial aspirations by setting the groundwork for a medical device company in Boulder, Colorado and currently operates his own firm that makes higher education more affordable. Outside of work Nikhil is a dedicated chef and cyclist, and you can find him outside of work pursuing both of those interests. Nikhil graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in finance.
Scott Smith is a Partner with the San Francisco based law firm Hanson Bridgett LLP. Scott’s practice emphasizes general business, corporate and tax law. Scott has significant experience counseling corporations, partnerships, nonprofits and entrepreneurs in connection with all phases of their operations. Scott regularly advises clients regarding federal and state tax matters and his work often involves a complex tax planning component.
James Kenefick, serial entrepreneur and sustainability expert, has been implementing triple bottom line best practices over the past 10 years. With 25+ years as a Sr. Executive in Technology, his career includes leading 3 companies from $0 to $15M, $0 to $30M and $0 to $70M in sales with over $750M in market cap, raised over $500M, managed over 650 employees and today: Managing Partner at Working Excellence, a Corporate Strategy/Investment Firm. He Chairs the Young Presidents Organization International Corporate Social Responsibility Program, Former YPO DC Chapter Chair, Trustee and Former International Board Member of Entrepreneurs Organization, Former Board of Director for Social Venture Network and Twice named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.
Ted is the founder and Executive Director of The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland. The Collaborative is recognized as a national leader in the fast growing field of community wealth building strategies and policy development. In July 2010, Mr. Howard was appointed as the Steven Minter Senior Fellow for Social Justice at The Cleveland Foundation. In this position, he has been responsible for developing a comprehensive business development and wealth building strategy known as the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative. Evergreen leverages the economic power of Cleveland’s “anchor institutions” to create green jobs and economic opportunity in low-income neighborhoods of Cleveland. The strategy has been praised by sources as varied as the Economist, the Nation, Al-Jazeera English, Jeffrey Hollender (founder of Seventh Generation), and the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Efforts are now underway in Atlanta, Washington, DC, Richmond (CA) and other cities to adapt the Evergreen model. For his leadership of the Evergreen Initiative, Mr. Howard was designated a CFED Innovation Award recipient in 2010. Utne Reader has named him one of “25 visionaries who are changing your world.”
Steve is a founding principal of Veris Wealth Partners, a sustainable wealth management firm dedicated to aligning families’ and foundations’ financial objectives with their mission and values. He has been providing sustainable investment advisory and wealth management services since 1994. Steve specializes in financial consulting, portfolio management, charitable planned giving, and community impact investing. Prior to Veris, he co-founded the New York office of Progressive Asset Management, the first full service broker/dealer to focus on socially responsible investing. Steve has a long history of management and director-level roles within the nonprofit sector. His deep understanding of public and private philanthropy enables him to provide a broad range of client services that complement his wealth management skills. Steve serves on the Board of Directors and is the former Co-Chair of the Jewish Funds for Justice. He is the former Chair of the Shefa Fund, dedicated to Jewish social responsibility, and Grassroots International, a global relief organization. Steve is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®). He graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. Steve lives with his family in Brooklyn, NY.
Neel Inamdar has more than 20 years experience in successfully developing, financing, operating and marketing sustainable enterprises in some of the planets most bio-diverse regions, representing private equity, owners, management and communities in different capacities.
A strong believer in the role of markets and finance in conservation, Neel now leads Conservation Internationals Verde Ventures Fund. The Fund contributes to building sustainable green economies by investing in small and medium sized businesses that are strategically placed to contribute to conserving Earths biologically richest and most threatened areas. Sustainable fisheries are a specific target of the Fund.
Cheryl is a journalist and entrepreneur who works at the intersection of business and social change. Her recent focus is researching, developing and launching ways to solve large-scale, systemic problems. She is founder of the Future of Fish, an initiative to help the seafood industry respond creatively and responsibly to the threat of fish extinction. Dahle conceived of and co-led this effort, a business incubator that supports early stage companies to “co-entrepreneur” solutions in the supply chain that support marine conservation. Prior to her work with fisheries, she was a director at Ashoka, where she distilled knowledge from the organization’s network of 2,500 fellows to provide strategic insight to foundations and corporations. Dahle spent more than a decade writing about social entrepreneurship and business for publications including Fast Company, The New York Times and CIO magazine. Before her work with non-profits, she was part of an incubation and start-up team to launch an online environmental magazine, for which she helped secure $12 million in venture funding. Dahle also founded and led Fast Company magazine’s Social Capitalist awards, a competition to surface top social entrepreneurs. As the project manager, she helped design an evaluation methodology to measure compelling models for change. As a consultant, Dahle has served leading organizations in the space of hybrid business/social solutions, including Humanity United, Nike, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University.
As founder and president of both North Atlantic and P.T. Bali Seafood International, Jerry maintains residences in Portland, Maine, and Bali, Indonesia. Jerry directs overseas operations, manages Asian production, and leads the Lesser Sunda Sustainable Fisheries Initiative. North Atlantic, Inc., is a primary processor, direct importer, and master distributor of both fresh and frozen seafood products. Founded and based on the Commercial Fish Pier in Portland, Maine, NAI has expanded to include owning and operating its own processing plant in Benoa, Indonesia. It specializes in providing customized products and supply programs for chain supermarkets, chain restaurants, and wholesale distributors.
Anju is co‐founder and managing partner of Psyche Manufactory, an innovation‐focused corporate development and principal investment firm. She works with her portfolio companies and clients at the board level and as part of the management team, supporting the CEO on operational efforts spanning strategy, marketing, business development, channel development, financial planning and growth positioning. Before launching Psyche Manufactory with her partners, Anju was one of the founding partners of MK Capital, a technology and business services venture capital fund with $150 million under management. Previously, she was a principal with First Analysis, specializing in venture investments across their family of funds with over half a billion under management. At First Analysis, one of her core areas of investment focus was middleware and hosted software solutions required to facilitate exchange‐based trade and other business‐to‐business commerce. Prior to that, Anju worked for Bank of America’s leveraged buyout group, where she focused on turnarounds of distressed companies. Anju’s background is grounded in strategy analysis and corporate development, skills she developed as an associate at The Boston Consulting Group. She has a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Over the last fifteen years, she and a subset of her partners have managed investments, consulted to clients and originated opportunities within various parts of the food industry, including processing, custom ingredient development, packaged foods, beverage and QSR/fast food.
FishChoice creates tools to assist commercial seafood buyers in procuring sustainable seafood products. Its centerpiece product to date is a matching service online that allows fish buyers to locate suppliers who provide sustainable fish. The service is not transaction-enabled, but has a rich network of relationships with both NGOs to provide fisheries certification data, as well as supplier relationships. Prior to founding FishChoice, Richard worked as Director of Operations for FishWise where he developed training and implementation programs for use in grocery stores’ meat and seafood departments. Richard has worked with fishermen and fishing associations in Morro Bay, California, to help bring their seafood products to the retail marketplace, and he continues to maintain relationships with aquaculture operators to help market their products to U.S. consumers.
EPC is an ongoing First Nations project that started right after the Exxon Valdez oil spill spewed millions of gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound in 1989. Dune founded EPC to help others understand what really happened in the wake of the Exxon spill. His conservation-based work has helped preserve hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest, thereby protecting wild salmon habitat in Prince William Sound and the Copper River Delta in Alaska. The Copper River salmon has a traceability issue. More than four times the amount of salmon that is harvested in the Copper River region is labeled and sold as "Wild Copper River Salmon." Local processors and distributors statewide routinely take Sockeye (Reds) and Chinook (King) salmon and slap the coveted Copper River label on in order to fetch a higher price. Dune, along with a couple of partners, decided to start the Copper River Wild Salmon Company and has been working with Copper River fishermen locally to purchase a processing plant where they could take local control of processing, packaging, labeling, and marketing. They are already exploring biodegradable packaging and data chips for tracking, as well as community cold storage for the processed salmon. They are also installing biodiesel boat engines to replace their gas-guzzlers and on-board at-sea processing for fishermen to double the quality and shelf life of their catch.
