Board Members

Lisa Woll, Chief Executive Officer + bio

Michael Lent, Chair

• Michael Lent is a financial advisor with Veris Wealth Partners, LLC.  He also serves as Veris’ Chief Investment Officer.  Veris Wealth Partners is an independent wealth management firm founded by five partners who share a deep conviction in the interdependence of values and wealth. Veris believes managing that interdependence with knowledge and wisdom delivers benefits for individuals, companies, and society.

  Michael brings extensive experience in aligning sound investment planning with his clients’ values. Prior to Veris, Michael was the Manager of the New York office of Progressive Asset Management for 13 years. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) and has held Registered Representative (Series 7) and Registered Principal (Series 24) licenses. Michael specializes in financial consulting for individuals, foundations and non-profit organizations.
  
  Michael is a trustee of The Edward W. Hazen Foundation, a private foundation established in 1925, which seeks to assist young people, particularly minorities and those disadvantaged by poverty, to achieve their full potential as individuals and as active participants in a democratic society. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Lotus Music and Dance, a New York City organization that promotes traditional ethnic dance forms. Michael is a member of the Social Venture Network, and the Investment Management Consultant Association. He is a runner and appreciates the balance that comes from his yoga practice and Alexander table work.

Paul Hilton, Vice Chair

• Paul A. Hilton is a portfolio manager at Trillium. He has been involved in sustainable and responsible investment for over 15 years, working on both the investment and sustainability research and advocacy sides.

  Prior to joining Trillium, Paul was Vice President, Sustainable Investment Business Strategy at Calvert Investments, leading SRI product and business development, with a particular focus on the institutional and international arenas. He also previosuly held sebior positions within Calvert's Equities and Marketing Departments. Prior to Calvert, Paul was a Portfolio Manager for Socially Responsible Investing at The Dreyfus Corporation. At Dreyfus he was responsible for social research and advocacy for the Dreyfus Premier Third Century Fund and its variable annuity counterpart, the Dreyfus Socially Responsible Growth Fund. Paul also served as a research analyst in the Social Awareness Investment (SAI) program at Smith Barney Asset Management, then a division of Citigroup.  He started his career in the field of SRI as an analyst with the Council on Economic Priorities, a non-profit known for an influential consumer guidebook called "Shopping for a Better World."

  Paul is co-founder of SIRAN, the Social Investment Research Analyst Network, a national group of analysts working to promote dialogue with companies about corporate responsibility. He is also a former Treasurer of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) and current member and former co-chair of its Asset Management Working Group. In addition, Paul serves on the board of Communities in Schools of the Nation’s Capital. A Chartered Financial Analyst, he holds Master’s degrees in Anthropology from New York University and Education from Roberts Wesleyan College.

Jan Bryan, Secretary

• Jan Bryan CFP® owns and operates an independent financial planning firm by the same name and is an investment advisory representative with First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC, an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm with the SEC.  Jan has specialized in Socially Responsible Investing since 1990 working with individual clients and trusts to integrate investment needs and planning goals with client’s values.  Jan obtained her Certified Financial Planner Designation (CFP®) from the College for Financial Planning, Denver; and is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA®) and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) professional. Jan obtained her BA in Geography from the University of New Mexico, speaks Spanish and currently works to build community investing in impoverished areas like Guatemala. Jan has worked extensively in her community to build awareness about the importance of green business, community investing, and sustainability issues.
  

Ingrid Dyott, Treasurer

• For the past twelve years, Ingrid has been an integral part of Neuberger Berman’s socially responsive group. She is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager on the Socially Responsive Investing (SRI) Team. Neuberger Berman’s SRI team manages a 5-star Morningstar rated fund (as of 5/31/2010) and separate accounts for both individuals and institutions. Ingrid is responsible for financial, social and environmental analysis for the SRI portfolio. In addition Ingrid is an associate portfolio manager of Neuberger Berman’s Guardian Fund.

  Before joining the firm in 1997, she was a research analyst at the Council on Economic Priorities; a non profit research organization focusing on corporate social and environmental responsibilities. Ingrid received a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. Ingrid is actively involved in the SRI community through various functions and speaking engagements. Ingrid also serves as on the Board of Directors for the Neuberger Berman Foundation.

Tim Brennan, Appointed Member

• Tim Brennan has served as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations since June 2006.  In addition to overseeing the Department of Finance, he oversees the Association’s assets including the UU Common Endowment Fund, the UU Organizations Retirement Fund, the charitable gift funds, and outside trusts with combined assets of approximately $400 million.  He is a member of the UUA’s Investment Committee, Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, and the Finance Committee.  Tim came to the UUA after nearly seven years with Ceres, the national network of institutional investors working to advance corporate responsibility for the environment. As Senior Director, Development and Communications, he worked with major environmental organizations, religious investors, the SRI community, and major pension funds on issues such as global warming and corporate sustianability disclosure. In addition, Tim spent seven years working for a New York investment company and has many years of experience in nonprofit financial management. Tim holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in finance and accounting. He is a member of First Parish in Needham, Unitarian Universalist where he serves on the Stewardship and Ministerial Intern Committees.

Michelle Clayman, Appointed Member

• Michelle Clayman, CFA, is the Founder, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer of New Amsterdam Partners LLC, an institutional money management firm in New York.  Ms. Clayman has been published in the Financial Analysts Journal, the Journal of Investing and NYSSA Financial Professionals' Post, and is a frequent commentator on Bloomberg and other financial media.  In addition, Ms. Clayman sits on the Boards of US SIF, the Society of Quantitative Analysts (of which she is a past President), and The Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance, and is a volunteer for the CFA Institute. 

  An active volunteer in her community, Ms. Clayman serves as a Director of Children of Bellevue, a charity providing services to children at New York's Bellevue Hospital.  She was a Girl Scout Leader for 17 years and has acted as a Course Director in Finance and Entrepreneurship for the East Harlem Tutorial Program.  She is a member of the Dean’s Council at the Harvard Divinity School. Ms. Clayman is also Chair of the Advisory Council of Stanford University’s Institute for Gender Research. Ms. Clayman received a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University, England (MA (Oxon)), and an MBA from Stanford University, California.

Phil Kirshman, Appointed Member

• Phil Kirshman began his financial services career in 1992 as a Financial Advisor with Smith
  Barney. He subsequently moved on to Wachovia Securities in 1996 where he was a Portfolio
  Manager and Associate Vice President, managing investment portfolios for institutional clients and individual families.

  Phil joined the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) community when he accepted a role with Progressive Asset Management (PAM) as Director of Business Development in 2004. With PAM, Phil had the opportunity to interact with many of the major players in the SRI field, including asset managers, social researchers, SRI/ESG vendors and marketing executives, investment advisors, and journalists. His responsibilities included product development, marketing and communications, asset management, and advisor compliance oversight.

  The Leonard Social Investment Group at UBS Financial Services, Inc. brought Phil onboard in 2008 as a Financial Advisor and Portfolio Manager. He now draws upon his considerable experience, education and commitment to SRI to help clients make the greatest possible connection between their investment portfolios and their mission-related or personal values.

  Phil holds active securities registrations for Series 7, 24, 63 and 65, and is Life, Health, Long-Term Care and Variable insurance licensed. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Financial Planner™ professional. He's a member of the CFA Society of Colorado, the NY Society of Security Analysts, the CFA Society of Hawaii, and US SIF, and has served on the SRI in the Rockies Conference Agenda Committee since 2007. Phil volunteers with Junior Achievement to teach financial literacy to public school students.

John Liechty, Appointed Member

• John L. Liechty is Principal and Founder of Integrated Investment Solutions, an investment consulting and financial planning firm that assists institutions and individuals with the integration of mission and finance.

  Mr. Liechty also serves as a Director of the Pax World family of mutual funds, board member of Greencroft Retirement Communities, Trustee of Bluffton University (OH) and is a member of the Business Advisory Council of Hawkins Water Tech, a leading water purification business in Indiana.

  Prior to establishing his consulting firm, Mr. Liechty spent 32 years at MMA, and served as President and CEO of MMA Praxis Funds for the last twelve years prior to his retirement.  He also was a founder and charter board member of Meritas Mutual Funds, a leading SRI fund family domiciled in Canada.

  A graduate of Bluffton University (Ohio), Mr. Liechty received a dual major in business administration and church work. He was awarded the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation by The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA and is a candidate for CFP Board certification, having successfully passed the CFP examination in November 2009.

Curtis Ravenel, Appointed Member

• As Global Head of Sustainability, Curtis Ravenel leads Bloomberg’s sustainability initiatives - a Chairman’s Office effort and the result of his 2006 Bloomberg Global Leadership Forum proposal. The program aggressively integrates sustainability considerations into all firm operations and leverages the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL Service to evaluate sustainability-related investment risks and opportunities for its 310,000 customers.
  
  Curtis has worked for Bloomberg in multiple roles. He was the Financial Controller for Asia managing accounting, tax, treasury and audit services for 23 legal entities with combined annual revenues exceeding $1 billion USD. This was preceded by various roles in the Capital Planning and Financial Analysis Groups.
  
  Prior to his work with Bloomberg, L.P., Curtis co-managed a small real estate development group, founded a micro-brewery and worked with the Recycling Advisory Council in Washington, DC conducting Full Cost Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis work.
  
  Curtis was awarded a David Rockefeller Fellowship with the Partnership for New York City in 2011. He currently serves as an advisor to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings (GISR). He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Davidson College

Frank Altman, At-Large Member

• Frank Altman is President and CEO of Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF). CRF is the nation’s leader in bringing capital to public and private nonprofit community development lenders through the secondary market for loans. Prior to founding CRF, Altman served as Assistant Commissioner for Financial Management at the Minnesota Department of Energy and Economic Development, where he administered several loan programs designed to create jobs in energy-related industries, to promote energy conservation in public and private buildings, and to finance manufacturing facilities in small communities. Currently, Altman is Chairman of the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, a coalition established to initiate the creation of a federal tax credit to encourage private investment in community development. He is Board Chair of the College of Visual Arts and Board Member of the California Association for Local Economic Development and Franklin National Bank.  He serves as an Advisory Committee Member for Wall Street Without Walls and is a Member of the Center for Community Development Securities of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Financial Innovations Roundtable of the University of Southern New Hampshire. Altman received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Brown University and a Masters in Public Affairs from the Humphrey Institute University of Minnesota.

Darragh Gallant, At-Large Member

• Darragh Gallant is Managing Director, U.S. and Director of Institutional Relations, North America for Sustainalytics. In her role, Darragh is responsible for managing operations in the US, and for directing business development, sales, marketing and client relations in North America. 

  Darragh has 14 years of experience within the responsible investment industry in the U.S. Prior to joining Sustainalytics, Darragh directed marketing and client relations for KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., and also has over seven years of experience as an ESG analyst on both the sell side and buy side. Darragh serves on the Steering Committee of SIRAN and board of directors for US SIF and US SIF Foundation. Darragh graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Economics and International Affairs.

Craig Metrick, At-Large Member

• Craig Metrick is Principal and US Head of Responsible Investment for Mercer. In this role Mr. Metrick consults to public, private and foundation clients on implementing responsible investment principles and mandates. Previously, Craig was Director of the Corporate Benchmarking Service (CBS) at the Investor Responsibility Research Center, Inc. (IRRC) which provided ESG research to institutional investors. Craig continued this role and took on additional responsibilities with regards to operations and integration when IRRC was acquired by Institutional Shareholder Services in 2005. Craig joined Mercer in March 2006 and has more than 10 years experience working in the responsible investment industry and on issues of sustainability and corporate responsibility.

  Craig has authored or co-authored several public reports since joining Mercer, including:
  * Universal Ownership: Opportunities an Challenges
  * Defined contribution plans and socially responsible investing in the United States: a survey of plan sponsors, administrators and consultants
  * Investing in clean energy, clean technology and carbon trading: insights for investors
  * Energy efficiency and real estate: Opportunities for investors

  Craig graduated with a degree incorporating international relations, economics and environmental science from Bradley University and has a Master's degree in environmental science and public policy from George Mason University.

Reginald Stanley, At-Large Member

• Reginald Stanley is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Calvert Investments. He has led Calvert's marketing and product development initiatives since 2000. Mr. Stanley has has worked since 1987 in investment, economic development and entrepreneurial businesses. Prior to Calvert he served as President of Boston Community Managed Assets and Chief Operating Officer of its CDFI holding company, Boston Community Capital (BCC). He joined BCC after spending seven years and holding several leadership positions at Fidelity Investments, including Vice President of High Net Worth Marketing, Customer Development and E-Commerce. He has worked at the consulting firms of Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company, as well as served on several community and non-profit boards aimed at civil justice, economic development, and quality of life issues. In addition to the US SIF board, he also serves on the boards of GLAD and the Calvert Foundation.  Mr. Stanley is a fellow of the Southern Africa/United States Center for Leadership and Public Values.  He earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with honors with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

David Wood, At-Large Member

• David Wood is Director of the Institute for Responsible Investment (IRI), a project of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, where he conducts research on responsible investment and its applications. He has led a series of projects over the last five years, exploring emerging issues for social investors such as fixed-income investment, mergers and acquisitions, corporate disclosure, real estate investment, and offshore SME investment.

  Recent projects at the IRI include the production of a Handbook on Responsible Investment across Asset Classes; the development of a Responsible Property Investing Center; research on the production and dissemination of corporate social reports; and research into investor use of corporate reporting on nonfinancial information.
  
  Prior to his work at Boston College, Wood taught the history of ethics, ethical and economic thought, and human rights theory at Boston University. He holds a Ph.D in History from the Johns Hopkins University.

Betsy Zeidman, At-Large Member

• Betsy Zeidman is Director of the Center for Emerging Domestic Markets (CEDM) and a Research Fellow at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, CA.  In addition to seeking innovative solutions to the capital gaps facing ethnic and low-income entrepreneurs and communities, she addresses such issues as mission-related investing, corporate governance, environmental financeand development finance.  She has authored numerous reports and op-eds, and speaks frequently at industry conferences and to the media.  She has served on the Investment Committee of the Shefa Fund’s Los Angeles TZEDEK Fund, and is on the Urban Policy Advisory Committee of the Obama/Biden campaign.  She received her B.A. and M.B.A. from Yale University.

Cheryl Smith, Immediate Past Chair

• Cheryl Smith is the President of Trillium Asset Management Corporation (Trillium). Her 24 years of portfolio management experience have been exclusively focused on socially responsible investing; her current responsibilities include serving on the Executive Committee of Trillium, portfolio management for institutions and individuals, and chairing the proxy policy committee. During her investment management career, her investment responsibilities have included serving as portfolio manager for the Calvert Social Investment Bond Portfolio, the Women’s Equity Mutual Fund, and the Advocacy Fund.
  
  She began her investment management career at Trillium in 1987. In 1992, she became Vice President and Portfolio Manager at United States Trust Company, Boston (now Walden Asset Management). She rejoined Trillium in late 1997.

  Ms. Smith earned a B.S in Economics from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University. She is a CFA charterholder. Ms. Smith serves on the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ms. Smith is a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society, the CFA Institute, the American Economic Association, and the Steering Committee for the Institute for Responsible Investment. She was formerly a Board member and chair of the Finance Committee for Resist! Before 1987, Ms. Smith was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Denver.