Schedule of Events

Raina Nelson (they/them) is the Manager of the Corporate Equality Index for the HRC Foundation and co-author of the CEI. In this role, they engage directly with employers nationwide to identify and improve LGBTQ-inclusive policies, practices and benefits. Raina also manages all aspects of the CEI database and survey implementation. Before joining HRCF, Raina began their professional career conducting research on gender equity in education and the workplace. Raina graduated from New College of Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in political science with a focus on the intersection of social identity and U.S. political ideology.

Aintech is a nanotech-based company that has a special focus on R&D in sustainability, resource optimization and climate impact. We develop, manufacture and patent highly sustainable and maintainable chemical additives for the most contaminating productive industries, allowing them to drastically reduce their costs, environmental impact and consequently, adding value in the social aspect, which allows them to make this world a safer place. We want to be the Basf of sustainable chemicals.

Fresco Labs is a predictive software company that helps fresh food grocers to reduce waste and stockouts by offering precise order recommendations.

iPAGE is an AgriTech startup that delivers value-added data to small farmers and FMCGs for a higher return. It leverages machine learning, data science, and AI to collect, analyze real-time data on soil, agrometeorology, consumer demand and provides a site, crop, and market-specific advisory to the farmers. 

Innovakit is committed to working together with coffee growing households and coffee pickers to build Advanced Coffee Growers: a new generation of specialized producers governed by the Internet, traceability, basic technologies and the effort to obtain the most exclusive coffees that do not need a seal to shine in the most exquisite palates in the world and receive a fair, profitable and sustainable price. In 2021, Innovakit exceeded 63,000 producers that use the company's products and services in Colombia and other countries in Latin America and Africa, maintaining sustained growth in sales and end users.

Le Qara is a female-led startup based in Arequipa, Perú. We have created a sustainable biomaterial with similar properties to animal leather. It doesn't come from animals because it is made by microorganisms that are fed with organic residues and grown through a biotechnological and sustainable process. We apply an integral circular process, since we use natural residues, a minimum quantity of water, and acquire a waste less and chemical-free production (no tanning involved). 

Plastus is a BioTech startup that specializes in the making of PHA biodegradable bioplastics by repurposing organic waste. We use bioreactors to ferment and extract bioplastics from within the bacterial cells, which should quickly disappear in the ocean or in soil and act as fertilizer without competing with food security. We have devised a method to slash manufacturing costs in half, which made it possible to take this product from its original biomedical applications and offer it up for consumer markets.

Symbaiosys is a Saas platform that matches companies and institutional investors with profit-generating forest and land restoration (FLR) projects. Our analytics enable our customers to strategically use forest projects to protect their physical assets and supply chains from climate-related financial losses, and to leverage climate-related opportunities. Our mission is to mobilize finance to restore 1.2 trillion trees globally, and to protect portfolios, people and the planet.

Uptime Analytics is working to build a more sustainable world by helping industries manage and optimize their energy consumption. Through their AI SaaS applications, their customers have reduced energy expenses by up to 15%, contributing to the reduction of more than 7,000 tons of CO2.

Waykana is an energy tea company with a unique ingredient from the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador called guayusa, the most caffeinated leaf in the world. Our mission is to boost the world with natural and balanced energy, impacting positively to small-scale growers in direct and fair trade, environment-friendly cultivating organically.

Silvia currently serves as the Royal Caribbean Group’s senior vice president and chief environmental, social and governance officer.  She is responsible for designing an enterprise-wide Environmental Social Governance (ESG) strategy, crafting relevant goals, targets, policies and programs and engaging internal and external stakeholders to support the company’s business strategy, long-term license to operate and reputational capital.  She oversees the company’s ESG disclosure strategy, ensures that the company follows the appropriate practices for board oversight and management of ESG risks and opportunities and supports the integration of ESG issues into the company’s governance and enterprise risk management.  

Jennifer is an International and Human Rights lawyer and Chief Sustainability Officer for Philip Morris International (PMI). Motles joined the company in 2015 and helped craft PMI’s sustainability strategy, ensuring it was intrinsically linked to the adoption of the company’s vision of delivering a smoke-free future. Since then, she has helped advance PMI’s transformation, honing the company’s sustainability and ESG performance.

Dave was appointed Apollo’s first Chief Sustainability Officer and member of the Management Committee in 2021. He is designing and spearheading Apollo’s enterprise-wide ESG and sustainability strategy. He is driving new operational rigor and positive impact around the globe leveraging Sustainability and Energy Transition as critical components of Apollo's long-term growth strategy. He is building new models of governance, capability, metric systems, reporting/communications, risk assessment and issue management to deliver value creation in one of the world’s leading alternative asset management firms.

Josh has been CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility since 2016, overseeing programs and operations for the organization. ICCR is a 50-year-old coalition of more than 300 institutional investors that collaboratively engage corporations on environmental, social, and governance issues. Josh has more than 25 years of experience as a nonprofit leader, coalition-builder, policy advocate, and public interest lawyer. Prior to ICCR, Josh co-directed the New Economy Project, an organization at the forefront of the fight against discriminatory financial practices. Among earlier roles, Josh founded and ran the Foreclosure Prevention Project at South Brooklyn Legal Services and helped create and lead New Yorkers for Responsible Lending, a broad policy coalition that fielded successful campaigns to achieve groundbreaking legislation and regulation to curb financial abuses. Previously, Josh also worked with Oxfam America on private sector campaigns, and as a housing lawyer representing low-income tenants. Josh was a member of the Consumer Advisory Board of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He has a J.D. from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.

Tony Tursich contributes 24 years of experience in socially and environmentally responsible investing strategies. He joined Calamos Investments following its 2021 acquisition of Pearl Impact Capital, LLC, the company he founded in 2018, where he served as Chief Investment Officer and portfolio manager since the inception of a trio of ESG-integrated portfolios. Prior to launching Pearl Impact Capital, he was a partner, senior portfolio manager and member of the executive committee at Portfolio 21.
In addition to his responsibilities at Calamos, Tony is an adjunct professor at Portland State University, an investment advisory board member for Multnomah County, Oregon, and a board member for the CFA Society of Portland. He graduated from Montana State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and received an MBA from Portland State University.

Anjuli Pandit is Head of Sustainable Bonds for EMEA and the Americas. Previously, Anjuli worked at BNP Paribas, where she led ESG for BNP Paribas’ debt syndicate desk, developing deep relationships with both ESG bond issuers and investors. Prior to that, she headed corporates sustainability for BNP Paribas in the UK and helped to define the firmwide sustainable financing agenda. Anjuli also worked in the corporate sector at the Tata Group, in various roles including managing public policy in the Group Chairman’s office and heading marketing for an ESG data solutions offering for their IT business, TCS. Anjuli has a rich and varied background in ESG, having worked with a number of organizations such as Al Gore’s The Climate Reality Project, Greenlight Planet, and The International Energy Agency. She has also served as an advisor to several NGOs on poverty alleviation and rural employment. Anjuli is personally focused on climate action and is regularly involved in expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic to study the effects of ice melt and advocate for the protection of the polar regions.

Greg Bartholomew is a research fellow from Deloitte & Touche, LLP. At the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF), he is responsible for engaging with various stakeholders to maintain and improve the SASB Standards across industries. Prior to joining the VRF, he provided professional assurance services for both public and private companies across a variety of industries. Bartholomew also served as a member of Deloitte’s National Office where he consulted on technical accounting matters and contributed publications in Deloitte’s accounting roadmap series. He is a licensed CPA in Illinois and California, and he holds a Master of Accountancy from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Alabama at Birmingham.

As Associate Director of Research, Greg Waters supervises technical staff on the research team and provides oversight on technical staff’s execution of standard-setting activities, sector coverage, and organizational projects. He previously led standards development for the Technology & Communications sector of the SASB Standards. Prior to joining SASB in 2019, Mr. Waters spent seven years on the research team at proxy advisor Glass Lewis, where he led a team analyzing the corporate governance of North American companies. He holds an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a BA in Economics from Bates College.