Meet the Staff


Maria Lettini, CEO

Maria Lettini is the Chief Executive Officer of US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable Investment. She joined US SIF in May of 2023 and is an innovative leader within the fields of sustainability and finance.  She is recognized for building meaningful partnerships across the capital markets value chain to address some of the world’s most critical, and financially material, environmental and social challenges.

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Most recently, Maria led the FAIRR Initiative. During her six years at FAIRR, she and her team ambitiously drove the narrative around the risks and opportunities in the global protein supply chain with the aim of directing capital towards a more sustainable and equitable food system. Under her tenure, the FAIRR investor network grew to over $70 trillion in combined assets and FAIRR’s expert research reframed the investor narrative on animal agriculture and sustainable protein.

Prior to joining FAIRR, Maria worked for the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) raising awareness of material ESG issues with institutional investors. Maria started her career in global finance and capital markets, working at both J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank. She has served on the Sustainability Accounting Standard Board Standards Advisory Group. She is also a member of the Intentional Endowment Network’s (IEN) Steering Committee.

Maria is based in Washington DC but has lived and worked in San Francisco, New York, Madrid and London. She holds a MA (Distinction) in Environment, Politics and Globalization from King’s College London and a BA in International Business, Latin American Studies and Spanish from San Diego State University.



Bryan McGannon, Managing Director

 
Bryan serves as US SIF's  Managing Director. Bryan leads the staff on executing the organization's strategic priorities and is US SIF's lead representative advancing the interests and perspective of the sustainable investment community with policymakers and stakeholders. Bryan also oversees US SIF's programming.
 
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Prior to joining US SIF in 2017, Bryan brought 20 years of policy and advocacy experience, most recently as Policy and Engagement Director for the American Sustainable Business Council, where he directed the policy team for a wide range of issues related to sustainability in business and the economy and served on the executive team.  

Prior to joining the American Sustainable Business Council in 2011, Bryan served as State Director in Ohio for the Alliance for Climate Protection's Repower America campaign. Bryan's political campaign experience spans presidential campaigns, congressional races, and local ballot initiatives. Bryan received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.



 

Michael Young, Director of Education and Outreach

Michael joined the US SIF team in the fall of 2016, bringing over twenty years of financial services expertise. Michael is responsible for education and membership functions. He leads education initiatives, including US SIF courses and private training services and develops educational materials. Michael also manages membership relations, interacting with US SIF members and prospective members, an array of financial professionals and associations as well as the press.

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He presents frequently on sustainable investing at industry events and enjoys sharing the work of US SIF and its membership on podcasts and radio programs. Michael’s comments have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investment News, and Bloomberg, among other publications.
 
Prior to joining US SIF, Michael worked in mutual funds, separately managed accounts, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds. His clients ranged from registered investment advisors and financial planning firms and broker-dealer firms to registered investment companies and hedge funds. His responsibilities included product development, relationship management with sub-advisory asset management firms, institutional sales, portfolio construction consulting, national accounts management, and advisor education. While at AdvisorShares, Michael helped launch the first actively managed fossil fuel free ETF. Previously, his time in financial services was spent with ING Investment Management and the Private Client Group at Merrill Lynch. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree from 
UC Davis.


Lisa Woll, Advisor

 

Lisa was the CEO of US SIF and the US SIF Foundation from 2006 to February 2023, and was responsible for strategic planning, developing a robust policy presence, expansion and diversification of funding, launching our national conference and creating the Center for Sustainable Investment Education.    

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Prior to US SIF, Lisa was executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation, an organization focused on press freedom and expansion of women’s role in the media.  During her tenure, the IWMF played a significant role in re-orienting the way journalism training was carried out on the issues of HIV-AIDS, malaria and TB in several African media organizations. Lisa also spent a decade working on children’s human rights.  She was the director of the first international study to look at the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and directed the Washington, DC office of Save the Children. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.

Lisa's early career focused on domestic social policy and began in the New York City Human Resources Administration as an Urban Fellow and the US Congress as a legislative assistant.  Lisa is the founder of Suited for Change, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that provides professional clothing and ongoing career education to low-income women who have completed job training programs and are seeking employment. She was a founding board member and former president of the board of The Women's Alliance, a national membership organization of community organizations that increase the employability of low-income women. She was also Board President of Women’s Voices for the Earth, a national environmental health organization based in Montana. She has written and spoken widely on human rights and development, as well as leadership. She is a board member of the Children's Environmental Health Network and the founder, with her teenage son, of Advantage Ethiopia: Kids' Tennis and Education Initiative.

In 2018, Lisa was honored to be included in Barron's list of “The 20 Most Influential People in ESG Investing”. She was also pleased to accept the SRI Service Award and the inaugural Forbes Impact Award. Previously, Lisa was named a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine in recognition of her pioneering role with Suited for Change. She has received numerous other awards and has volunteered on other nonprofit boards and commissions. Lisa holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in public policy and women's studies from George Washington University. She was a Fulbright Fellow in Melbourne, Australia.


Lisa is energized daily by the opportunity to be part of the leadership team advancing the vital work of sustainable and responsible investors.




Rachel Curley, Director of Policy and Programs

Rachel leads US SIF's policy and programming work to advance the interests and perspective of the sustainable investment community with policymakers and stakeholders. Rachel brings significant organizing, coalition building and public policy experience to the role.

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Before joining US SIF, Curley worked for seven years as democracy advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division, where she supported Public Citizen’s work on democracy and investor protection issues. In this role she led advocacy coalitions supporting corporate political spending and ESG disclosure.

Curley started her career as the program coordinator for Doctors for America, where she led the charge on several of the organization’s major campaigns. Curley graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy.





Yemi Asfaw, Finance and Operations Associate

Yemi Asfaw is Finance and Operations Associate and supports the operations, finance, membership and HR functions of US SIF.  She is responsible for accounts receivable and accounts payable functions as well as general office management and provides back-end administrative support to our programs.

 
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Yemi has significant experience in finance and operations, spending more than 12 years at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS-Africa), a non-profit research firm with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa.  Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Yemi managed the organization from the start-up stage by developing policies and procedures, harmonizing internal policies with host country regulations and rules, providing inputs for strategic planning, and networking with host country government officials as well as other institutions. Yemi received a Bachelor of Arts from Addis Ababa University College of Commerce and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Sikkim Manipal University, India.




Tracy Press, Manager of Events and Marketing

Tracy is responsible for the planning, marketing and execution of all US SIF conferences and events, as well as cultivating event sponsors. She also directs marketing for other US SIF initiatives. 

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Tracy came to US SIF with over 20 years of experience in marketing, events and non-profit management. Her career has spanned the public, private and NGO sectors, with particular focus in media relations, sponsorship acquisition, strategic partnership and project management. 

Tracy founded and served as Co-Director of Powerful Beyond Measure - a small non-profit that utilizes the arts to motivate struggling youth towards academic, social and personal success. With the organization, she served over 600 youth, planned 25 programs and events per year and raised over $650k in funding.  Tracy has also held multi-year contracts with Procter & Gamble, Essence Magazine/Time Warner, Biomed and MK Technology in events, public relations and marketing.
 





Sam Holmes, Policy and Programs Associate

Sam Holmes is Programs and Policy Associate and supports US SIF’s public policy work, member programs, education programs and events. 

 
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Sam graduated from Williams College in 2022, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Political Economy with a concentration in Public Health. Sam was a varsity athlete on the men’s crew team and completed major projects on the medical device industry and community-based pollinator protection. Sam interned for Alba Environmental Law and Blue Dot Climate Insurance, the St. Louis Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Medicine and the City of St. Louis Office of Sustainability over the summers. 
 







Jacob Koerner, Membership Services Assistant

Jacob Koerner supports US SIF’s membership services, education programs, providing resources to our members, and supports all aspects of the member recruitment process. In addition, he works to refine and develop back-end administrative structures. 
 
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A Maryland native, Jacob graduated from Towson University in 2020, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Political Science taking classes in economics, international relations, and U.S politics. He has seven years of experience working in membership-supported organizations.