CBEY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Environmental Innovation Fellow at Yale Center for Business and Environment
Job Titles:
- News Editor at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
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- Chief Investment Officer at Greenworks Lending from Nuveen / Master of Environmental Management 2012
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Manager
- Program Manager at Microsoft / Master of Environmental Management 2018
Annie is a Senior Program Manager on Microsoft's Environmental Sustainability team focused on executing carbon removal agreements in support of Microsoft's "Carbon Negative by 2030" goal and working across carbon, water, and waste disciplines to scale its operations to meet broader corporate sustainability objectives. She initially joined Microsoft's cloud energy markets team in 2019 to develop and execute the energy strategy supporting the business' datacenter expansions into new European markets - Poland, Italy, Spain - and growth within the existing United Kingdom cloud regions. As a regional lead, Annie was responsible for securing power capacity and other energy services for her datacenter portfolio while seeking additional opportunities to advance energy transition principles - for instance, deploying onsite assets for grid stabilization, increasing interconnection resilience to forego backup generators.
Before Microsoft, Annie worked at GE Solar as a project finance analyst developing C&I scale solar around New England. She also has experience consulting for US EPA on defining and implementing its ENERGY STAR 3rd Party Certification scheme, researching how energy efficiency interventions support broader USAID pillars, and researching the extent to which US states are prepared for the impacts of natural hazards exacerbated by climate change.
While at the Yale School of the Environment, Annie focused on energy economics and finance. She co-led the Energy SIG and was an elected member of Forestry Club. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California with a minor in International Relations and also competed on the varsity swim & dive and club ultimate frisbee teams. She was born and raised in Minnesota and now lives in Seattle, WA where you can find her biking around town, skiing in the mountains, or paddling around the lakes with her pup.
Job Titles:
- Director for the Circular Economy Group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- Director, Circular Economy at World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Brendan currently works as Director for the Circular Economy group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva, Switzerland. His work focuses on mainstreaming life cycle assessment in the built environment, implementing the circular economy, and life cycle thinking.
Brendan Edgerton completed the Yale FES/SOM joint degree program in 2015, receiving an MBA and Master of Environmental Management. His studies focused on the opportunities that industrial ecology presents within corporate environmental strategy. In 2013, Brendan worked as an EDF Climate Corps Fellow at Office Depot where he identified savings opportunities in greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency and generation projects across headquarters, stores, and supply chain. His 2014 summer internship was with Walt Disney Imagineering in their R&D group, conducting life cycle assessment and sustainable engineering projects.
Prior to Yale, Brendan was a project manager for Green Dinosaur, Inc. in Venice, California, where he worked as a green building consultant on over 20 LEED projects. Brendan maintains his LEED Accredited Professional accreditation for both new construction (LEED-BD+C) and existing buildings (LEED-O+M). A native of Los Angeles, California, Brendan graduated with honors from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2006 with a BA in Ecological Design.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair of the Financing Solutions Working Group of the State Energy Efficiency Action Network
- President and CEO at Connecticut Green Bank / Master of Environmental Management 2000
- President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank
Bryan Garcia is the president and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank - the nation's first state-level green bank. The "green bank model" is demonstrating how smarter use of public resources can attract more private investment in the clean energy economy - reducing the energy burden on households and businesses, creating jobs in local communities, increasing the deployment of clean energy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change.
Before joining the Green Bank, Garcia was program director for the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. At Yale, Garcia led efforts to develop a leading global program responsible for preparing environmental leaders for business and society. There he was co-editor of two publications - "Carbon Finance: Environmental Market Solutions to Climate Change" and "Carbon Finance II: Investing in Forests for Climate Protection". Prior to Yale, he served as Connecticut's Climate Change Coordinator where he supported the Governor's Steering Committee on Climate Change. Early in his career, he was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer specializing in NGO capacity building and environmental education in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Bryan is the Co-Chair of the Financing Solutions Working Group of the State Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEEAction Network), on the advisory boards of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University, University of Connecticut School of Engineering, and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, and recently joined the Board of Directors of the Institute for Sustainable Communities.
He holds a B.S. degree in political economy of natural resources from U.C. Berkeley, M.P.A. in public and non-profit administration and an M.B.A. in finance from New York University, and an M.E.M. degree from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Online Programs Administrator at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
As Online Programs Administrator at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, Catherine collaborates with faculty and staff to develop and deliver online programs. She also oversees the admissions process for the Financing and Deploying Clean Energy online certificate program.
Prior to joining CBEY, Catherine worked on developing, implementing, and evaluating medical education programs at the Yale School of Medicine. She also advised medical students, residents, and fellows on the design and development of medical education and public health research projects. Catherine has a Master's in Public Health from Columbia University. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, baking, and exploring the outdoors with her kids.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager, Equitable Energy at Yale School of the Environment / Master of Environmental Management 2022
Claudia is an environmental lawyer from Peru with a master's degree in environmental management at Yale School of the Environment (YSE). In addition to her current role at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), she has worked as an advisor at the Peruvian National Park Service, and collaborator to Sistema B Perú. Claudia has also served as advisor to the Ministry of the Environment and the National Forest and Wildlife Service in Peru. She dedicated more than a decade providing technical and legal assistance to different companies and NGOs in sustainability, project design and policy analysis.
Her interests are climate change, biodiversity, energy, and sustainability. She is very enthusiastic about becoming a trustworthy member of the YSE community and support students to achieve their goals while taking time to invest in their well-being.
Job Titles:
- Online Programs Director at the Yale Center for Business
- Online Programs Director at Yale Center for Business and the Environment / Master of Environmental Science 2018
Coral Bielecki is the Online Programs Director at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. In this capacity, she leads the development of online models for student engagement and broadens the impact of these programs, including the Certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy, which she helped develop and deploy after joining the CBEY team in 2019. In January 2023, in partnership with the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, the Connected Leadership course on Coursera was launched. And, in partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Justice, Coral is leading the development of a Clean Equitable Energy Development program, set for launch in 2024. She researches, applies, and shares best practices for online learning and pedagogy in general, and collaborates with the CBEY team and faculty across multiple Yale schools to broaden impact, improve delivery processes and increase student retention and enjoyment. In 2020, she led the strategic design and successful execution of the first-ever remote orientation events for CBEY.
Prior to CBEY, she worked with Yale's Program on Freedom of Religion and Society in Africa. While a student at the Yale School of the Environment, Coral was awarded the William R. Burch Prize and the Strachan Donnelley Award for her interdisciplinary approaches and scholarly excellence. Her co-authored paper on Global Risk of Deadly Heat in the journal Nature Climate Change became one of the most influential articles of 2017.
Coral has a Master in Environmental Sciences from Yale and a B.S. in Ethnobotany from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa, where she studied as a fellow of both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society.
Job Titles:
- Chairman at Douglas Emmett, Inc.
- Chairman of Douglas Emmett Inc
Dan Emmett is the Chairman of Douglas Emmett Inc. (DEI), a real estate investment trust based in Santa Monica, CA. He co-founded DEI's predecessor companies, Douglas, Emmett and Company, a fully integrated real estate management and leasing company, and Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors, which grew during the 1990's into a large manager of institutional real estate funds.
Mr. Emmett was previously President of Santa Monica Baykeeper and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, and is a Director of Patagonia Inc., Chairman of the Advisory Board of the UCLA School of Law's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, Chair of Governor Schwarzenegger's Green Building Initiative, and Chair of the Governor's Real Estate Industry Leadership Council.
Mr. Emmett holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor at Columbia University
- Lecturer at Yale University / Director, Climate Pledge Fund at Amazon
- Managing Director at Oaktree Capital Management
- Private Equity Investor
Daniel Gross is a private equity investor focused upon renewable energy, infrastructure and socially responsible impact investing, and the Director of the Climate Pledge Fund at Amazon.
He is a founder and instructor at Pivotal 180, where he develops content for courses and provides advisory services and transaction support to clients globally. He also serves as Chief Investment Officer of Climate Real Impact Solutions, a repeat issuer of special purpose acquisition corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a focus on companies that reduce or eliminate carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Mr. Gross has served as a Managing Director at Oaktree Capital Management and was one of the founding Partners of Hudson Clean Energy, a private equity firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. He has served on the board of directors of multiple companies, both private and public. While in the U.S. alternative energy investment group at Goldman Sachs, he headed efforts to invest in photovoltaic solar, including private investments in First Solar and SunEdison. He also founded the renewable energy investment business at GE Capital's Energy Financial Services unit, where he closed over $1 billion of principal investments in energy-sector loans, leases, mezzanine, common/preferred equity and tax-driven partnerships. In recent years, Mr. Gross has provided advisory services to family offices, private companies, non-profits, investment funds, development finance institutions, as well as government ministries and state-owned utilities in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Gross' professional contributions to the field of renewable energy finance include structuring and leading the first U.S. project financing of a rooftop PV solar installation, as well as the tax equity financing for the first and only renewable partnership flip structure to receive a Private Letter Ruling from the IRS, which became the basis of the IRS's subsequent issuance of the partnership flip Safe Harbor Rules.
Mr. Gross is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and holds appointments as a Lecturer in Law at the Yale Law School and a Lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment. His courses on Renewable Energy Project Finance are offered both on campus and online as part of the Certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy.
Mr. Gross is a Fulbright Scholar and holds a Masters in Environmental Management, M.B.A. and B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President in the Investment Group at Tiedemann Advisors
- Vice President, Investment Group at Tiedemann Advisors
Donovan Ervin (he/him) is Vice President in the Investment Group at Tiedemann Advisors. In this role, he's helping to direct capital toward a more inclusive, just, and regenerative economy. This work aligns closely with Donovan's professional mission: developing and supporting new markets that shift patterns of production and consumption, distribute power and ownership more democratically, and expand the definition of wealth to include individual, community, and planetary health and well-being.
Previously, Donovan has held positions at various organizations in the social sector, ranging from K-12 education to community development to environmental justice.
Based in Dallas, Texas, Donovan is a graduate of Yale University (MBA and Master of Environmental Management) and Stanford University (BA in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity). He's also a proud advisory board member at the Yale Center for Business & Environment. Outside of work, Donovan enjoys writing, exercising, and being with his people.
Job Titles:
- Master of Environmental Management ( MEM ) 2023
Gabriela Rodriguez (she/her/ella) is a Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of The Environment specializing in People, Equity, and the Environment. She is interested in how we can center equity in our approaches to climate change and the clean energy transition by establishing equitable community engagement and participation strategies throughout decision-making and development. Most recently, Gabriela was a fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Economic Impact and Diversity where she assisted in developing an equitable stakeholder engagement strategy for the Department's implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 Initiative and in the rollout of the Department's Justice40 programs. In 2022, Gabriela was named a Switzer Fellow.
Gabriela has experience in equitable community engagement, education, communications, and organizing around climate and environmental justice. Prior to Yale, Gabriela was a Program Coordinator at The CLEO Institute, where she helped bring climate change education and advocacy skills to underserved schools across Miami-Dade County. Gabriela was also a local climate justice organizer, where she helped advance local climate legislation, and the co-host of a youth-led, climate change podcast she helped create called "House on Fire". Gabriela received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies, Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability and the Environment, and Minor in Communication Studies from Florida International University.
Job Titles:
- President of Customer Development at Unilever
- President, Customer Development at Unilever NA
As President of Customer Development at Unilever, Gina Boswell leads business delivery of $10 billion in revenues across all Unilever categories and customers in the US. Formerly as President, Global Brands for Alberto Culver, Ms. Boswell oversaw all global brands, such as TRESemmé, NeXXus, and St. Ives for this $3.7 billion market cap company, until acquired by Unilever. Prior to Alberto Culver, she was Chief Operating Officer of Avon North America, and held senior positions at Ford Motor Company and the Estée Lauder Companies, following years as a consultant with Marakon Associates and Arthur Andersen.
Ms. Boswell currently serves on the boards of Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN), YMCA USA, Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW), and the Personal Care Products Council, where she also serves on the Executive Committee. Ms. Boswell was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute in 2005. She is a member of the Chicago Network, the Executives' Club of Chicago, the CMO Executive Summit's Board of Governors, and the Yale University President's Council. In 2012, Gina was recognized as a "Woman to Watch" by Advertising Age, an annual list of 25 women in advertising, marketing and media whose accomplishments and future business potential have made them truly outstanding in their industries and "Marketer of the Year" by Women's Wear Daily. Ms. Boswell was CEW's Achiever of the Year in 2011, earning the only industry award recognizing the achievements of women in the cosmetics industry.
She is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston University and received her MBA from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Online Programs Delivery Associate at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
Heather is the Online Programs Delivery Associate at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. As part of the FDCE program delivery team, Heather's goal is to provide a rich, engaging, and supportive learning experience for each participant from start to finish.
Prior to joining CBEY, Heather was the Online Program Administrator at the Yale School of Public Health, where she played a key role in the development and operations of online learning initiatives, including the Climate Change and Health Certificate program and the Executive MPH degree program. In that role, Heather developed and executed the online orientation for the first two cohorts of Executive MPH students and led the event management for the in-person components of the program.
Before coming to Yale, Heather served as a program manager for a maternal and child health home-visiting program in New York's capital region. She holds a Master of Public Health degree and has expertise in evidence-based program delivery, grant management, and early childhood development. She is also an AmeriCorps alum, a lifelong learner, an animal lover, and an optimist.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
At the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), Heather's role focuses on leading CBEY's marketing and communications efforts, supporting and expanding student engagement, growing alumni engagement, and managing many of the center's key programs.
Prior to joining CBEY, Heather worked as Assistant Director at the Yale Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management. There she developed a breadth of marketing and communication programs, engaged with students on research projects, and directed all of the center's live events. Throughout it all, she has managed projects big and small with grace and focus.
Heather has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing and customer insights, working with global brands such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and McDonald's to evaluate and improve their communication strategies. At the start of her career, she was part of a consortium that pioneered online research at its infancy, bringing together practitioners and researchers to build best practices.
A mother of three, she enjoys gardening, hiking with her dogs, finding fantastic bargains at consignment shops, and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Master of Environmental Management 2018
Holly currently manages the sustainability program across the state of Hawaii for Bayer Crop Science. She is 2018 graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she earned a Master in Environmental Management. Her academic and professional work focuses on agricultural supply chains, sustainable sourcing and corporate reputational risk. She spent her summer internship in Jakarta, Indonesia, working on a zero deforestation palm oil strategy with the Sustainable Sourcing team at Unilever. In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Fox Fellowship through the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs to spend a year at Copenhagen Business School, researching how corporate procurement strategies can influence global governance and policy.
Prior to Yale, Holly worked at a social change communications agency before pivoting to a career in sustainable agriculture at the Rainforest Alliance. She is fluent in Spanish, having grown up in Costa Rica, and holds a B.A. in Rhetoric and Environmental Studies from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. In her free time, she is enjoying the outdoors, planning her next trip and trying new recipes.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Lo & Sons
- Co - Founder, CEO, Head of Product Design at Lo & Sons
Jan Lo is the co-founder and CEO of Lo & Sons, a maker and online retailer of premium travel lifestyle bags. Lo co-founded the company with his mother, Helen, and brother, Derek. After graduating from Yale University (B.A., Social Psychology) in 1998, he attended NYU Stern School of Business (M.Phil) where he also taught Management & Organizational Analysis to undergrads and received a Stern Excellence in Teaching award. At the same time, he became part owner of a successful New York City bar and worked nights as a DJ.
Lo then spent four years in Beijing doing ethnographic research for a product design company and DJing across Asia. In 2009, his mother, an avid traveler, mentioned how difficult it was to find functional, lightweight carry-on bags that were also stylish. Jan suggested she create her own. Helen took up the challenge--and enlisted Jan to oversee design and production. Brother Derek left his job in advertising to handle marketing for the fledgling company, which launched in 2010.
Human-centered design has been central to the company's product development since the earliest prototypes. Jan researched the market by observing people in airports and interviewing frequent business travelers. That fieldwork led to signature Lo & Sons bag features such as thoughtfully-placed pockets, padded compartments for tech essentials and adjustable sleeves that slide over suitcase handles.
Job Titles:
- President and Corporate Director at Kurtsam Realty Corp.
Since 2000, Ms. Landau has been President of a regional commercial real estate firm, Kurtsam Realty Corp., focused on the acquisition, ownership and management of community shopping centers. She is responsible for sales & marketing, portfolio identification, general operations and "green" practices and has been instrumental in steering the firm back to its management roots and a healthy 35% profit margin. Prior she was Chief Marketing Officer with the investment units of two Fortune 100 firms; Deutsche Asset Management's $750 billion investment business and Citigroup's $100 billion private client group. In both instances she applied the rigors of her earlier consumer products expertise to change the business model bringing steady 15% margins to the Deutsche business and growing the asset management business globally to revenues of 30%. Earlier in her career, Ms. Landau held a 5-year assignment in Geneva, Switzerland.
She is currently a director in three privately owned companies focused on real estate. Ms. Landau served as a Corporate Director for a public company, Hudson Holding Corp (HDHL.OB) for 5 years, which included an investment banking arm focused on energy, alternative energy and natural resources, among others. Transactions included Clear Skies Solar, China Clean Energy and Blue Rock Energy. She serves as Chair of the Foundation of Westchester Community College, the County's largest educational institution providing access and opportunity to more than 26,000 students. She also serves as Treasurer of the American Friends of the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, inclusive of its School of Sustainability. Prior activities include a leadership role in Westchester County's largest private nature preserve, Teatown Lake Reservation, founded by the New York Botanical Garden. Additionally Ms. Landau is active non-profit organizations and directorship associations.
Ms. Landau was named a Top 100 International Board Candidate for 2011 by Agenda, a Financial Times magazine and a "Director to Watch" for 2008 by Directors & Boards Magazine. She received her Diploma from the University of Geneva, her BSFS from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and her Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from the Yale School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Centerview Partners
John Cogan is a Partner at Centerview Partners, a leading independent investment bank and advisory firm headquartered in New York City with offices in London, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Los Angeles. The firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, valuation, and capital structure to companies, institutions and governments. Mr. Cogan has 20 years of energy sector investment banking experience including the gas and electric utility sector, power generation companies and master limited partnerships in the oil & gas sector. Clients include energy sector corporations and partnerships, project developers, energy technology firms and financial sponsors. Mr. Cogan has led numerous strategic reviews and M&A executions for companies in each of these sectors and important financings in each layer of the capital structure.
Mr. Cogan's notable transaction activity while at Centerview includes advising JPMorgan Infrastructure Investment Fund on its acquisition of the Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corporation, advising TerraForm Global on the $1.3bn sale of the company to Brookfield Asset Management, advising The Williams Companies on the sale of the Geismar ethylene facility to NOVA Chemicals for $2.1bn and advising TerraForm Power on the sale of a majority stake and entry into new sponsorship arrangements with Brookfield Asset Management in a transaction with an implied enterprise value of $6.6bn.
Mr. Cogan joined Centerview in 2014 to establish the firm's energy practice. Prior to Centerview, Mr. Cogan spent 13 years in the energy investment banking group at Credit Suisse and for the last two years served as Co-Head of North American Power & Utilities. At Credit Suisse, Mr. Cogan served on the Investment Banking Committee. Mr. Cogan began his career in investment banking at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Mr. Cogan received his MBA from Yale University and his BS from Wake Forest University. He resides in New York City with his wife and two children.
Job Titles:
- New Jersey 's Energy Master Plan ( Updated As the Plan Moves Forward in '21 )
- President of the State 's Board of Public Utilities
When we spoke with Joseph Fiordaliso, the president of the state's Board of Public Utilities, lockdowns were still only happening overseas and states were the only ...
Job Titles:
- Senior Consultant at Indufor Ltd. Master of Environmental Management 2016
- Senior Consultant With Indufor
Karena Mahung is currently a Senior Consultant with Indufor, an independent international consulting group with companies in Finland, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. She consults for public and private sector clients internationally, providing services including project design, data collection, program evaluation, and qualitative and quantitative analysis related to forest and agricultural industry, governance, and policy. Her active areas include climate and conservation finance, natural capital valuation, community-based natural resource management, land tenure advisory, timber legality verification, environmental and development policy, bank and exchange ESG standards. She was previously an Executive Fellow at National Park Foundation, and she graduated with an MEM from Yale in 2016.
Prior to Yale, she worked with the Director of the Conservation Innovation Program at Harvard Forest on a case study on landscape scale conservation in the Schoodic region of Maine. She has also worked at the Massachusetts Audubon Society in the US as their Conservation Programs and Operations Intern, and the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment in Belize as their Communications and Fundraising Intern. She has also been a participant in the Yale Conservation Finance Camp led by the Center for Business and the Environment. Many of her professional experiences have focused on gaining theoretical and practical experience on the effective use of conservation finance tools and conservation strategies. Her interest is to develop this knowledge base in order to explore innovative ways these tools and strategies can be used in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions. Originally from Belize, she graduated top of her program at the University of the West Indies in 2013 with a BSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Management.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager at Yale Center for Environmental Justice
- Yale Center for Environmental Justice Program Manager
As the Yale Center for Environmental Justice Program Manager, Kristin oversees the advancement and growth of YCEJ's programs, cultivating partnerships and collaboration among Yale faculty, staff, students, and local partners to promote engaged research and experiential learning. She also develops tools and coordinates convenings for network development including the annual Global Environmental Justice Conference. In addition, Kristin develops, manages, and implements the Environmental Justice Community Fellows Program and Community Resource Lab in collaboration with affiliated faculty and local partners.
Prior to YSE, Kristin partnered with organizations committed to advancing educational equity and social justice. She developed curricular material and assisted in developing network tools and structures for a national network of schools as a member of the Research team at EL Education. With the Logan Square Neighborhood Association in her hometown, Chicago, she developed a leadership training for the Early Learning Ambassadors Program, empowering local parents to support health and educational equity in their communities. As a member of the Early Learning Coalition, she assisted in facilitating a Community-Based Participatory Research partnership with Michigan State University, engaging diverse perspectives to promote systems change for family services.
She graduated from Harvard University in 2013 with a Master's in Education focused in Human Development and Psychology. Her research centered on collaborative inquiry with practitioner communities to advance educational equity.
With a background in music composition, Kristin continues to enjoy arts collaborations including most recently, Project SITE an interdisciplinary project on Responsive Place-Making with Reciprocity Collaborative and the National Parks of the East. She also loves exploring greenspaces with her family in New Haven, CT.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Assistant, Financial Coordinator at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner at Mizzen Capital
Liddy Karter is Managing Partner of Mizzen Capital www.mizzencapital.com, Mizzen is a private, SBIC, credit fund investing in US based, lower middle market companies across sectors including business services, advanced manufacturing, IT and clean tech.
Previously Liddy was Managing Director at Enhanced Capital where she managed lower middle market credit funds. She also ran Karter Capital Advisors, LLC a management consulting company. She has had operating success as CFO of a software company, Netkey, Inc., and CEO of a recycling company Resource Recovery Systems, Inc. both of which exited to strategic public companies. She started her career as a Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group at Morgan Stanley and Co. Inc.
Liddy serves on several private corporate boards including APS Technology, LLC an advanced manufacturer of oil and gas drilling technology and MEA Mobile a mobile app developer. Liddy also serves as a board observer on many of her portfolio companies including Posigen Inc-a solar developer, Simad Holdings, LLC-a summer camp holding company, Spot On Networks, LLC-a telecom service provider.
Liddy is on the non-profit board of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale. She has worked with many non-profits to promote entrepreneurship including Crossroads Venture Group, the Angel Capital Association, the Angel Investor Forum, and the CT Technology Council. She is also a frequent speaker and lecturer on funding for small businesses including at Yale, UConn, Singularity University, US Dept of Commerce, the National Institute of Health and various industry groups.
Liddy received her MBA from Yale University and a BA from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO at StarPoint Advisors, LLC
Job Titles:
- President at the Caspian Group LLC / Principal & Co - Founder at Cascadia Consulting Group
Job Titles:
- Lecturer in the Practice at Yale School of Management
Namrita Kapur combines a unique mix of traditional finance skills from her time in investment banking with environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact assessment experience as a senior leader in the nonprofit space. Currently, she is Lecturer in the Practice at the Yale School of Management and Resident Fellow at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment; and, consults to several philanthropists, including founders of one of the oldest venture capital firms and of a Fortune 500 company.
Namrita began her capital markets focus by launching and leading the alternative energy franchise at the investment bank Adams, Harkness & Hill, now Canaccord Genuity. She is best recognized for being second-in-command in developing the products and platform of Root Capital - an early leader of the impact investing space. As former Managing Director at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), she built and led EDF's Sustainable Finance strategy.
In her entrée to philanthropy, Namrita developed and implemented Eileen Rockefeller Family Foundation's approach to organizational development. This involved establishing a partnership with the Ford Foundation's $1 billion BUILD program and working closely with grantees to develop 3-year business plans and organizational strengthening strategies. In parallel, she helped convene and coordinate $75 million of annual global grant-making across 40+ funders worldwide to transition to a clean energy future.
Namrita is an angel investor in the Portfolia fund of funds, which focuses on educating and activating female angel investors. She is also a member of Pipeline Angels, since graduating from their angel investing boot camp.
She serves on the Boards of Environmental League of Massachusetts, Center for Business & Environment at Yale, IE-Brown Executive MBA Program, and the Museum of Science. She holds an MBA and a MA of Environmental Management from Yale University, and a Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton. As a mother of two strong girls, she enjoys imbuing them with her love of foreign languages and is teaching them Hindi and Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Research Director at Yale Initiative on Sustainable Finance
Job Titles:
- Chief Sustainability Officer at Johnson & Johnson / Master of Environmental Science 1996
Paulette Frank is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Johnson & Johnson, the world's largest and most broadly based healthcare company. She is responsible for defining J&J's strategic direction to accelerate and amplify positive environmental impact and for identifying and supporting solutions at the intersection of human and environmental health.
Under her leadership, J&J launched ambitious climate goals in September 2020, which will accelerate the company's transition to 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutrality for its operations, while also partnering with suppliers to reduce upstream carbon emissions.
Ms. Frank has been with J&J for 25 years, and before being appointed Chief Sustainability Officer she served as J&J's Vice President, Global Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability. She is a member of the J&J Supply Chain Leadership Team and co-chairs the J&J Enterprise Governance Council. She is also a passionate advocate for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and co-chairs the J&J Supply Chain Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
Ms. Frank has been working in the fields of environmental stewardship, employee health & safety and sustainability for 30 years. She is a sought-after speaker and contributor at international workshops and conferences, providing a voice for the company's values and long-standing commitment to help create a healthy future for people, our communities, and the planet. She was previously co-chair and continues as a member of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale (CBEY) Advisory Board.
Ms. Frank earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Duke University and her Master of Environmental Studies degree from Yale University's School of the Environment.
Peter is a Lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment and Resident Fellow at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. Outside Yale, he is Founder & CEO of Time4Good, helping Leaders and their teams in a variety of sectors, build purpose-driven paths to maximum positive impact. He is passionate about system change to a ‘Net-Zero' world: from writing and speaking, to directly helping organizations that are accelerating the transition.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Impact and Advocacy at New Forests Asset Management Pty Ltd
Job Titles:
- Lecturer
- Lecturer at Yale School of the Environment / Managing Director of Clean Energy Programming at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
Rob Klee is a Lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale School of the Environment in industrial ecology, a law degree from Yale, and an undergraduate degree from Princeton in geology and environmental science.
Dr. Klee most recently served as the Commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), from January 2014 until January 2019, for former Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy. DEEP is the state agency charged with conserving, improving and protecting the state's natural resources and environment; providing first-rate outdoor recreation opportunities; and integrating energy and environmental policies to build a sustainable and prosperous 21st-century economy for Connecticut. Dr. Klee originally joined DEEP in April 2011 as chief of staff to then-Commissioner Daniel C. Esty.
Prior to his state service, Dr. Klee was an attorney with Wiggin and Dana LLP, in New Haven, where he specialized in appellate and complex litigation, and energy and environmental law. He also served as a law clerk for both the U.S. District Court in Connecticut and the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Dr. Klee and his wife Anne live in Woodbridge, Connecticut, and have two sons, Alex and Jacob.
Job Titles:
- Chief Sustainability Officer at International Paper Company / Master of Forestry 2002
Sophie Beckham is the Chief Sustainability Officer at International Paper (IP), where she leads the development and execution of IP's sustainability strategy and tactics to advance the company's vision of being among the most successful, sustainable and responsible companies in the world.
Prior to joining IP, Ms. Beckham applied her training as a forester to work in domestic and foreign contexts, holding positions with forest management organizations and home furnishings retailers. Sophie's interest in the transformation of materials into products that people use every day stems from a lifetime spent exploring the ways in which people rely on natural resources, and in turn, the impact our decisions have on people and planet. Early formative experiences on trails, in tents, and in forests and foreign countries contributed to a professional journey that has been dedicated to advancing sustainable business practices in consumer goods and manufacturing sectors for the past 20 years.
She holds a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, now known as the Yale School of the Environment.
Job Titles:
- Senior Lecturer in Sustainability at Yale School of Management
Job Titles:
- Online Programs Delivery Associate at Yale Center for Business and the Environment
Trent is the Online Programs Delivery Associate at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. In this capacity, he manages the online courses delivery process in collaboration with the Online Programs Delivery Manager, faculty, staff, and teaching assistants to create and promote a rewarding and enriching experience for a diverse group of clean energy professionals.
Prior to joining CBEY, Trent worked with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he established and maintained enduring relationships between Academies staff and a global network of Board members, consultants, government officials, and academics. Concurrently, he assisted with the development and implementation of a community composting initiative called Compost Cab, successfully diverting hundreds of tons of food waste from Washington, DC area landfills. Previously, he enjoyed interning with the Business Network for Offshore Wind, where he covered the completion of the Deepwater Wind project.
Outside of the CBEY ecosystem, Trent enjoys cycling, photography, and forever attempting to brew the perfect cup of coffee.
Mr. Pérez is an avid environment advocate and renewable energy investor. He is currently chairman of Alternergy, a wind, solar, run-of-river hydro power developer.
He has been an independent director of regional companies in Australia, the Philippines and Singapore. He is an independent director of ST Telemedia, the Temasek holding company for telecom, data centers and mobile technology, and an Independent Director of Banco de Oro, the Philippines' largest commercial bank, and of Double Dragon Properties, a real estate developer. He is a member of the advisory boards of Bhutan Foundation, New Zealand Trade Enterprise, Geneva-based Pictet Clean Energy Fund, and the Yale Center for Business and Environment. He is also the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the Philippines.
His philanthropy is focused on the environment. Mr. Pérez has long been involved with Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), co-founded WWF-Philippines, served as trustee of WWF-International in Geneva, and currently is on the boards of WWF-China and WWF-US.
Mr. Pérez was Philippine Energy Minister from 2001 to 2005. He boosted energy self-sufficiency, promoted clean indigenous energy, and crafted an ambitious renewable policy framework. He served briefly in early 2001 as Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, and as vice chairman of the Philippines' National Renewable Energy Board.
Mr. Pérez obtained an MBA from Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines. He was a 2005 World Fellow at Yale University, where he lectured an MBA class on renewable power in emerging countries.
Job Titles:
- Director of Philosophy at Patagonia
Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia's long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company's interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company's Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a resident fellow at CBEY. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.
As a Resident Fellow, Vincent is available to members of the Yale community for office hours or one-on-one coaching sessions and feedback on your venture or idea.