Joan Bavaria Award
The Joan Bavaria Award, presented by Trillium Asset Management and US SIF, recognizes leaders in the investment and nonprofit sectors who are transforming capital markets for social and environmental impact.
Named in honor of Joan Bavaria, a pioneer of socially responsible investing, the award celebrates individuals advancing sustainability, corporate accountability, and ethical finance.
Call for Nominations
Joan Bavaria Award 2026
Nominations closed
About Joan Bavaria
Joan Bavaria was a pioneer of socially responsible investing whose vision and humanity helped catalyze positive change in the capital markets.
Beginning in the late 1960s, she recognized that many investors wanted to integrate social and environmental values into their investments, that investment firms could leverage their funds to press for corporate social responsibility, and that such investments could be profitable.
Joan was a co-founder of US SIF in 1981, and founded Trillium Asset Management in 1982, establishing an investment firm to provide a space for clients to invest their money in alignment with their values.
In 1989 Joan co-founded Ceres, a nonprofit with a mission to move companies, financial markets and policy makers to find solutions to sustainability challenges. Joan was a founding, and long-time member of the boards of Ceres and US SIF, serving as Chair of each organization, respectively.
Joan served as Trillium’s CEO until her death in 2008 and she is often referred to as the “Founding Mother” of Socially Responsible Investing.
Following her death, Trillium and Ceres continued to present The Joan Bavaria Award to honor her trailblazing spirit and impact.
The 2026 Joan Bavaria Award Recipient
US SIF and Trillium Asset Management announced that Margot Brandenburg has been selected for the 2026 Joan Bavaria Award. Brandenburg is a Senior Program Officer at the Ford Foundation’s Mission Investments team.
“Margot has been a tireless leader and collaborator in sustainable finance and inclusive capitalism. Her innovative approach to building critical market infrastructure has catalyzed aspiration to measurable impact,” said Maria Lettini, CEO of US SIF.
Margot has spent two decades working at the intersection of philanthropy, capital markets, and social and environmental justice. In her role at Ford, Margot’s work focuses on building and strengthening the infrastructure of the impact investment market with an eye toward shaping the broader capital markets, counselling and supporting numerous organizations. She played a critical role in creating B Lab, the non-profit behind the B Corp movement; the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB); sustainable finance start-ups Novata and Bluemark; and numerous other organizations that enable the integration of sustainability.
Eligibility
To be considered for the Joan Bavaria Award 2026, nominees must have experience in the investment industry or the NGO / Non-Profit community and share the spirit of collaboration and coalition building demonstrated by Joan Bavaria and the organizations she founded.
When submitting a nomination or self-nomination, please include a description of initiatives or accomplishments that have been the most impactful. Sharing information on the nominee’s individual accomplishments that are especially visionary, groundbreaking, or otherwise unique will be helpful to the people reviewing nominations. Nominations, including self-nominations, for the Award are being accepted through April 24, 2026.
Current employees of US SIF and Trillium will not be considered for the Joan Bavaria Award 2026.
If you have questions, please e-mail BavariaAward@trilliuminvest.com
Last Year's Winner
George Gay, CEO of First Affirmative Financial Network, winner of the 2025 Joan Bavaria Award in recognition of his career in creating spaces for investment advisors to connect, learn, and advance sustainable investment practices.
Previous Joan Bavaria Award Recipients
Call for Nominations: Joan Bavaria Award 2025
Nominations for the 2025 Bavaria Award are open to people in the investment and non-profit / NGO communities who are working to transform capital markets.
