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Joan Bavaria Award

About the 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 2025

Current employees of US SIF and Trillium will not be considered for the Joan Bavaria Award.
Nomination Deadline: April 11, 2025
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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 2025 Award

Joan Bavaria

Nominations for the Joan Bavaria Award 2025 are open to people in the investment and non-profit / NGO communities who are working to transform capital markets.

Judges for the Joan Bavaria Award 2025 are leaders of two organizations that Joan Bavaria founded or co-founded: Maria Lettini, CEO of US SIF and Matthew Patsky, CEO of Trillium Asset Management.

The 2025 Joan Bavaria Award will be awarded at the US SIF FORUM 2025 conference, which will take place in Washington, DC from June 25 – 27, 2025.

June 25 – 27, 2025
US SIF FORUM 2025 Conference, Washington, DC
Nomination Deadline: April 11, 2025

Eligibility

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To be considered for the Joan Bavaria Award 2025, 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 11, 2025

Current employees of US SIF and Trillium will not be considered for the Joan Bavaria Award 2025.

If you have questions, please e-mail [email protected]

Last Year's Winners

Bavaria Awards

Joy Anderson, Suzanne Biegel (posthumously), and Jackie VanderBrug were joint winners of the 2024 Joan Bavaria Award in recognition of their influential work in developing the field of Gender Lens Investing.

Previous Joan Bavaria Award Recipients

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Napoleon Wallace
Southern Reconstruction Fund (2022)
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Mark Campanale
Carbon Tracker Initiative (2021)
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Helen Wildsmith
CCLA (2020)
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Laura Campos
Nathan Cummings Foundation (2019)
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Richard Ferlauto
AFSCME, (posthumously) (2018)
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Heike Reichelt
The World Bank (2017)
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Christiana Figueres
UNFCCC (2016)
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Geeta Aiyer
Boston Common Asset Management (2015)
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Sister Patricia Daly
Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment (2014)
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Phil Angelides
Riverview Capital Investments (2013)
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Tessa Tennant
The Ice Organisation (2012)
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Peter Kinder
KLD Research & Analytics (2011 Impact Award)
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William Foote
Root Capital (2011)
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Tim Smith
Walden Asset Management (2010)
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The Center for Political Accountability
(2010)
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Robert K. Massie
(2009)
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The Enhanced Analytics Initiative
(2008)
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The Bainbridge Graduate Institute
(2008)

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.

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