Sessions & Speakers

Featured Speakers

Tony Tursich, Senior Vice President and Co-Portfolio Manager, contributes more than 25 years of experience in socially and environmentally responsible investing strategies. Together with Co-Portfolio Manager Jim Madden, Tony leads the firm’s Sustainable Equities Team. 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 as portfolio manager since inception for three ESG-integrated portfolios. Prior to launching Pearl Impact Capital, Tony and Jim served as portfolio managers for Trillium ESG Global Equity Fund (PORTX), which was launched in 1999 at Portfolio 21 and acquired by Trillium Asset Management in 2014. Tony is 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. 

Jim Madden joined Calamos Investments in 2021 and contributes more than 30 years of investment industry experience. Together with Co-Portfolio Manager Tony Tursich, Jim leads the firm’s Sustainable Equities Team. In the 1990s while at Portfolio 21, Jim and Tony developed a research and investment process that combined traditional fundamental analysis with a focus on sustainable and ESG-oriented business attributes. At Portfolio 21, Jim also served as Chief Investment Officer and senior portfolio manager, overseeing one of the first global ESG mutual funds in the United States. In 2014, the fund was acquired by Trillium Asset Management and renamed Trillium ESG Global Equity Fund (PORTX). Jim earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. 

Amy Quintana Avalos is Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Business Officer and Corporate Secretary at World Kinect (formerly World Fuel Services). She leads World Kinect’s enterprise-wide decarbonization efforts and provides critical support for its commercial teams, helping grow its sustainability solutions. Amy transitioned from her role as Chief Corporate Counsel to Chief Sustainability Business Officer, continuing and expanding on her work with investors, acquisition candidates, customers, internal teams, and other stakeholders to drive and embed the company’s sustainability efforts throughout the entire value chain.

Robert Fernandez joined Universal Insurance Holdings in July 2019 and was appointed Director of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability in January 2022. This expanded role reflects his leadership across a broad range of responsibilities, encompassing communications, customer experience, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability. Robert sets the strategic direction and execution for all executive and employee communications and corporate responsibility efforts at Universal. In the area of customer experience, he spearheads the development and implementation of inter-departmental strategies to ensure a seamless and positive experience for every customer. Additionally, he champions Universal's sustainability initiatives, recognizing their critical role within the company's strategic framework. 

Megan Saunders is the senior managing director of ESG at KA Real Estate where she is responsible for the overall ESG strategy for Real Estate and consideration of ESG issues in the development and investment process. Prior to joining Kayne Anderson, Saunders spent over 14 years in sustainable real estate, most recently as the Director of Sustainability for Lendlease’s Communities business where she led efforts in environmental and social sustainability strategies for their military housing and privatized Army lodging portfolios. She is a LEED AP BD+C, ND and a Fitwel Ambassador.  

Erin Meezan is Chief Sustainability Officer for Jones Lang LaSalle. She is responsible for directing and delivering their sustainability program by embedding it throughout the firm and driving meaningful impact with, and through, Jones Lang LaSalle’s clients.

Pablo Necoechea worked for six years as ESG and Sustainability Director at Grupo Televisa, a major telecommunications company that owns and operates one of Mexico's largest cable companies and a leading direct-to-home satellite pay-TV system. Currently, he is the National Manager of Sustainability and Climate Change at Tecnológico de Monterrey University. He is a columnist for the leading media in Mexico, such as El Universal, El Economista, El Financiero, and Expansión. 

Elizabeth Seeger was appointed as a full-time member of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in July 2022, effective November 2022. Ms. Seeger has over 20 years' experience of in standard-setting, investment, and working on sustainability topics. She joined the ISSB from global investment firm KKR, where she served as Managing Director, Sustainable Investing, responsible for helping oversee the firm's consideration of sustainability matters throughout KKR’s investment process and part of KKR's Global Impact team. She also oversaw KKR’s public sustainability reporting efforts, including the development of SASB and TCFD-aligned reporting. 

Nancy Mahon, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies is a transformational, collaborative leader with deep global experience in enterprise-wide management as well as leading Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, operations, marketing, reporting and risk reduction. In the increasingly disruptive ESG arena, Nancy is a trusted and sought-after advisor, speaker and enterprise ambassador. She is committed to taking the long view on building sustainable and inclusive companies, teams and communities.

Dr. Esber Andiroglu has a BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Civil / Architectural Engineering. He is an Associate Professor of Practice with primary appointment in Dept. of Civil & Architectural Engineering and secondary appointments in the Dept. of Chemical, Environmental & Materials Engineering and at School of Architecture. He serves as the Director of the graduate degree programs in Construction Management at CoE and SoA,  and as the Coordinator for the Engineering & Technology Education Outreach Program at College of Engineering. As the Director of the Sustainability and Resilience Adaptation Laboratory (SUREAL), Dr. Andiroglu’s research area of interest focuses on development of virtual fan / pump flow meters and their application to air / water conveyance systems for achieving optimized performance efficiency.