Your Sustainable Investing Half-Day Conference Speakers
Ben Attia, Principal, Allied Climate Partners
Benjamin Attia is a Principal at Allied Climate Partners, a philanthropic investing firm deploying risk-bearing capital to address climate finance bottlenecks in emerging markets. Previously, he was the Research Lead for Energy, Climate, and Sustainability at BlackRock and a Principal Analyst in the Energy Transition practice at Wood Mackenzie. Benjamin is also a part-time doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford’s Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment, focusing on climate finance flows to the Global South and novel climate finance instruments. He is a non-resident fellow at the Energy for Growth Hub, The Payne Institute for Public Policy, and Duke University. He holds a Master’s in Energy & Environmental Policy and a B.S. in Economics and Energy & Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware.
Colleen Denzler, CFA, Chief Sustainability Officer, Loomis, Sayles, and Company
Colleen Denzler is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Loomis, Sayles & Company, leading the firm’s sustainability initiatives and partnering with investment teams to integrate ESG factors into investment decision-making. With over 20 years of experience in sustainable investing, she provides forward-looking insights on sustainability and transition risks, industry trends, and regulatory changes to support clients' evolving needs.
Previously, Colleen held leadership roles as an ESG-focused portfolio manager at Calvert Asset Management, senior portfolio manager and investment team leader at American Century Investments, and global head of fixed income strategy at Janus Henderson. She also served as Chief Investment Officer at First Affirmative Financial Network and led ESG integration efforts at Smith Capital Investing before joining Loomis Sayles in 2022.
Colleen holds a BS in Finance from Radford University and is a CFA® charterholder. She also holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses and certifications from the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
Bridget Realmuto LaPerla, Owner and Founder, Lion and Arc, LLC
Bridget is the owner and founder of Lion and Arc LLC, a sustainable finance consultancy helping companies and investors hone a differentiated and defensible strategy – separating the signal from the noise. She sits as a Senior Advisor at RG Sciences, a leading FinTech company measuring and connecting corporate environmental and social impact to accounting statements and she is an Advisory Board Member at SparkChange, a company built by a team of carbon market experts that deliver data solutions to capital allocators, banks, and regulators on compliance carbon pricing markets. With over 15 years of experience spanning investment banking, impact investing, government, and ESG/climate/impact research, her work has been featured in IR Magazine, Forbes, ESG Today, Securities Lending Times, and other financial publications. Her research is published in the Financial Analysts Journal, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, and the Journal of Impact and ESG Investing.
Committed to advancing sustainable economies, Bridget is a member of the Boston Economic Club and a chapter leader emeritus of Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy (WISE). She has served on BSR’s Sustainability Principles and Objectives Framework Advisory Council and advised Columbia University’s Trustees as a voting member of the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing. Bridget holds a B.A. from The George Washington University, a Certificate in Sustainability Analytics from Columbia University, and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. She is FINRA SIE, 63, and 79 licensed.
Liqian Ma, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing Research, Cambridge Associates
Liqian Ma is Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing Research and a Partner at Cambridge Associates, leading the firm’s efforts in identifying and researching new impact investment opportunities. He works with a range of clients to build impact-focused portfolios and specializes in constructing custom private investment strategies. Liqian also serves on the firm’s global private investment ratings committee and oversees the Cambridge Associates Clean Tech Benchmark.With over 15 years of investment experience, he previously worked as a finance associate at GreenerU, developing private investment vehicles for energy efficiency projects, and as a financial analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Management Division. A frequent speaker at industry conferences, he contributes regularly to Cambridge Associates' research on impact investing trends and strategies. Liqian is also a member of CA Mosaic, CA Allies, and the firm’s Global DEI Council. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Harvard College.
Ashwin Mahabaleswara, CFA, Fund Manager, DWM Asset Management
Ashwin is the fund manager for DWM’s private debt funds. Since joining DWM in 2012, he has held roles in private credit origination, served as regional head for Asia & Africa, and was a portfolio manager in the firm’s private equity team. Previously, he was head of finance and treasury at Grameen Financial Services in India and worked in Indian capital markets at JM Financial (formerly JM Morgan Stanley). He began his career advising institutions and high-net-worth individuals at Scotia Capital and Berkshire Securities in Montreal. Ashwin serves on the Investment Committee of Partners for the Common Good and the board of McGill University’s U.S. endowment entity. He holds a BA in Economics from McGill University, is a CFA charterholder, and holds the Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designation. He is fluent in Kannada and functional in Hindi.
Fernando Morales, Vice President of Impact Measurement and Management, Builders Vision
Fernando Morales is Vice President of Impact Measurement & Management at Builders Vision, an impact platform deploying flexible capital to accelerate innovation in the Oceans, Food and Agriculture, and Energy sectors. He has extensive experience in impact management, having worked with global funds providing impact private equity and debt across sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Eastern Europe. Previously, he led IMM and ESG management at SEAF, a global nonprofit private equity impact manager, and provided impact and ESG consulting for Mercy Corps Ventures and Pomona Impact. Fernando has also collaborated with development finance institutions, multilateral banks, foundations, and private investors to guide pre- and post-investment impact strategies. Originally from Honduras, he is passionate about leveraging investments to drive social and environmental change.
Stephanie Potter, Co-Vice Chair, CFA Society New York Sustainable Investing Committee
Stephanie is the Co-Vice Chair of the CFA Society New York Sustainable Investing Committee and the former Director of Sustainability at S&P Global, Commodity Insights, where she focused on sustainability in private markets. Based in New York City, she led partnerships and business development with financial institutions across North America, working with institutional investors, investment banks, and private equity firms to integrate sustainability reporting and energy transition solutions. Her expertise includes low-carbon strategies, scenario analysis, sustainability data, and regulatory compliance. Previously, she was a researcher at State Street, focusing on climate integration in asset management and custody. Stephanie holds a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Virginia.
Emma Sabiiti, Head of Sustainable Investing Strategy, MassMutual
Emma is the Head of Sustainable Investment Strategy at MassMutual, leading the firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment initiatives across the General Investment Account (GIA). He oversees efforts to achieve the company’s commitment to net zero emissions in its investment portfolio by 2050 and supports its role as a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Previously, Emma spent over 15 years at Boston Common Asset Management, where he served as a Partner, Head Trader, and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager. Originally from Uganda, he holds a degree in Mathematics and French from Middlebury College and an Executive MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He is also a graduate of McKinsey’s Black Executive Leadership Program.
Jonathan Tower, Founder and Managing Partner, Arctaris Impact Investors
Jonathan Tower is the Founder and Managing Partner of Arctaris Impact Investors, the largest impact-focused manager of Opportunity Zone funds in the U.S. He oversees the Arctaris family of funds, 8 funds in total, investing in private equity, infrastructure, and community-centric real estate in underserved areas, with a focus on growth-oriented businesses in manufacturing, technology, and services.
With over 20 years of experience in private equity and private debt, Jonathan has held three interim CEO roles in private equity-backed companies and has worked closely with portfolio businesses to drive growth, including Capterra (acquired by Gartner), Verid (acquired by EMC), and Xoom (IPO: XOOM, acquired by PayPal for over $1 billion). Prior to co-founding Arctaris in 2009, he was a Managing Director and Operating Partner at Dutchess Capital and previously worked at Fidelity Ventures, where he focused on private equity and venture capital investments. Earlier in his career, he was part of IBM’s Corporate Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Debt Capital Markets groups, facilitating over $2 billion in debt issuance and venture investments.
Quyen Tran, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing (SII) Integration Strategy at Cambridge Associates
Quyen Tran is the Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing (SII) Integration Strategy at Cambridge Associates. She is also a Professor of the Practice in Impact Investing at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. For more than a decade, Quyen has influenced investment industry practices and global standards in impact investing across asset classes. Most recently, she co-authored the CFA UK Impact Investing Certification and continues to serve as a panel expert in collaboration with leading practitioners. Quyen is a member of Harvard Business School’s Alumni for Impact Initiative and has served on many ecosystem building initiatives, including those at the Impact Management Project (IMP), Impact Frontiers, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), GSG Impact, and many universities. She is a frequent speaker at global forums, including at Harvard, MIT, the United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit, and conferences in Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. She is a recipient of the J.M. Warbeke Prize, the top recognition in the Department of Philosophy at her alma mater, and studied abroad at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India.
Robin Wehbé, CFA, CMT, Found and Chief Investment Officer, Harmony Capital Advisors
Robin Wehbé, CFA, CMT, is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Harmony Capital Advisors and Portfolio Manager of the 3D Impact Fund, launched in 2021. The fund focuses exclusively on investing in environmental and social solutions with the goal of exceeding global public equity returns. Prior to founding Harmony, Robin was a Managing Director and Lead Portfolio Manager at BNY Mellon, where he led the firm’s Natural Resources team for 14 years. Under his leadership, the Global Natural Resource strategy expanded from a $1.5 million seed investment to a $1.2 billion strategy serving retail and institutional clients. Robin holds a BS from Lehigh University and both an MBA and an MSF from Boston College. He is a CFA and CMT Charterholder.
Jerry Yu, Associate Portfolio Manager, Acadian Asset Management
Jerry Yu, CFA is an associate portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management, where he works on ESG signal research, product development, and engineering of analytical tools. He is a member of CFA Society Boston and a volunteer on the Sustainable Investing Task Force.
Abdulla Zaid, Research on Sustainability and Climate Investment Solutions
Abdulla Zaid leads research on sustainability and climate investment solutions in private-capital funds, specializing in energy transition, climate risk assessment, data reporting, and engagement. He has expertise in integrating sustainability targets into private-capital portfolio construction. Previously, he worked in forestry-products markets and macroeconomic policy. Abdulla is actively engaged in sustainable investing initiatives and industry research. He holds a master’s degree in development economics and policy from the University of Manchester and a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from St. Lawrence University. Additionally, he holds the CFA® Certificate in ESG Investing.
T. Robert Zochowski III, President and CEO, International Foundation for Valuing Impacts
T. Robert Zochowski III is the President and CEO of the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI), leading efforts to advance a just and sustainable global economy by integrating business contributions to people and the planet. Previously, he served as Program Director of Multi-Faculty Impact Investing and Sustainability Special Projects at Harvard Business School, contributing to the Impact-Weighted Accounts Project, Social Impact Collaboratory, and Project on Impact Investments. Prior to that, he was Vice President at Goldman Sachs, specializing in investment product innovation, strategy and development, alternative investments, and private wealth management. Rob has been recognized for his contributions to impact investing and social enterprise. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, graduating Dean’s Honors with Distinction (top 10%), and received the Carson Family Changemaker Award. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University, where he graduated magna cum laude.