Boston Carbon Risk Forum 2014

Presentations

Stuart Braman, Fossil Free Indexes
John Fisher, Bloomberg LP
Leslie Samuelrich, Green Century Funds

Resources

Stuart Braman, Fossil Free Indexes – Stuart Braman is the Founder and CEO of Fossil Free Indexes. Working as an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory on climate change adaptation, arsenic in drinking water and water conservation issue, he heard Bill McKibben speak in November 2012 about fossil fuel divestment. As index investors, he and his wife went home to find some fossil free indexes to invest in. Two months later they were still looking and Fossil Free Indexes was born. Stuart’s financial services career spans 24+ years at Standard & Poor’s, DRI/McGraw-Hill and Mediant Communications. With assignments primarily in marketing, new product development, business development and strategic partnerships, Stuart retired from Standard & Poor’s as a Managing Director in the Risk Solutions Group. In his most recent financial services position with Mediant Communications he served as the Director of Investment Company Services. Stuart earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Geography (now Earth and Environmental Sciences) from Columbia University.

John Fisher, Bloomberg LP – John Fisher, CFA is a 16 year veteran and Specialist at   Bloomberg focused on the needs of analysts to uncover and vet  stock ideas.  He publishes quantitative research modeling factors that have historically generated excess returns and brings insight into how savvy managers are finding ideas using real-time news feeds and analytics to harvest the most promising prospects.

Bevis Longstreth, Corporate Finance Lawyer and Professor – Bevis Longstreth is a retired partner of the New York-based law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton. He was twice appointed by President Reagan as Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served from 1981 to 1984. For several years following retirement, he taught financial market regulation at Columbia Law School. Among many writings on financial matters, in 1986 he wrote Modern Portfolio Management and the Prudent Man Rule (Oxford University Press), which led to the American Law Institute’s revision of the law of prudence for fiduciaries managing money.  He has served extended terms as director of various investment firms, such as College Retirement Equities Fund, GMO and AMVESCAP and is currently serving as trustee for several tax-exempt entities.

Leslie Samuelrich, Green Century Funds  – Leslie Samuelrich is the President of Green Century Capital Management, assessing the Funds’ investment strategies and managers and overseeing Green Century’s sales, marketing and shareholder advocacy programs. Prior to joining Green Century, Ms. Samuelrich served as the Chief of Staff at Corporate Accountability International and Executive Director of Green Corps. Leslie serves on the Advisory Board for the Business Ethics Network and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston College.

Joseph A. Curtatone, First elected in November of 2003, began his historic sixth term as Mayor of Somerville on January 2, 2014. He had previously served for eight years as an Alderman at Large.

Thirty-eight years old at the time of his first election, Curtatone is the second youngest Mayor in Somerville history.  A 1984 graduate of Somerville High School, he earned his B.A. from Boston College in 1990, a J.D. from New England School of Law in 1994, and a Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2011.  Prior to his election as Mayor, he served as an attorney in private practice and a volunteer assistant football coach at Somerville High School.  As a member of the Board of Aldermen, Curtatone took the lead on a number of major legislative initiatives, including successful efforts to stem gang violence, eliminate graffiti, prevent drug abuse among teenagers, and promote clean and energy-efficient buildings.

As Mayor, he has successfully implemented a wide range of reforms and new programs that have earned Somerville many distinctions by regional and national organizations, including the designation by Boston Globe Magazine as “the best-run city in Massachusetts,” by America’s Promise Alliance as one of the “100 Best Communities for Youth,” and a winner of the 2009 “All America City” award.

Mayor Curtatone established a policy advisory commission headed by former Attorney Scott Harshbarger to develop a comprehensive reform agenda for the Somerville Police, including the decision to remove the position of Police Chief from civil service. He created Neighborhood Impact Teams that combine fire, health and building inspectors – along with representatives of the Council on Aging and the city’s environmental office – in a coordinated effort to monitor and improve the health, safety and appearance of Somerville’s businesses and residential neighborhoods. After inheriting a government in fiscal crisis, he has stabilized city finances and begun a restoration of lost city services and personnel cuts that occurred before he took office – and he led a successful effort to end years of delay in the development of Assembly Square as a transit-oriented, mixed use, Smart Growth project on the banks of the Mystic River.

Delegations from other Massachusetts communities – and from cities as far away as Ireland and Korea – regularly visit Somerville for briefings on the city’s SomerStat program, a data-driven performance management system modeled on Baltimore’s CitiSTAT initiative. In 2006, Somerville became the first city in America to offer both a 311 constituent service center and Connect CTY mass notification technology. By calling 311 from any phone in the city, Somerville residents and businesses can now access information and services from any city department and can track progress on service requests through a publicly accessible work-order system. Under his leadership, Somerville has also earned national recognition for its successful joint effort with Tufts University to implement “Shape Up Somerville,” an effective program to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity among the city’s elementary school children, which was lauded by First Lady Michelle Obama during the launch of her “Let’s Move” initiative. His success in Somerville has earned him the presidency of the Massachusetts Mayor’s Association, a position on the Board of Directors for the National League of Cities, and as a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Association.

Mayor Curtatone lives with his wife Nancy and his sons Cosmo, Joseph, Patrick and James in the Ten Hills neighborhood.

Presentations

Thomas Kuh, MSCI
Liz Michaels, Aperio Group

Resources

Thomas Kuh, MSCI – Thomas Kuh is Executive Director for ESG Indexes at MSCI Inc. Prior to his current role at MSCI Inc., he was Head of ESG Indices at RiskMetrics Group, which was acquired by MSCI Inc. in June 2010. Dr. Kuh joined RiskMetrics in November 2009 through the acquisition of KLD Research & Analytics. During his 17-year career at KLD, Dr. Kuh held a number of positions, progressing from Research Analyst to Business Development Director and finally Managing Director of KLD Indexes. Prior to KLD, he was a Professor of Economics at Simmons College and a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. Dr. Kuh received his MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Liz Michaels, Aperio Group – Liz Michaels is Aperio Group’s Chief of Staff and Director of ESG/SRI. Prior to joining Aperio Group, Liz was responsible for the $11 billion defined contribution managed accounts business at Ibbotson Associates, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Earlier in her career, Liz was the Chief Operating Officer of Morningstar, Inc. and served on the company’s executive committee. Liz was also the President of Jellyvision, Inc., an interactive firm best known for its game, You Don’t Know Jack™ and Associate Dean/Director of the Career Advising and Planning Services office at the University of Chicago. Liz has a BA in Economics and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Presentations

Donald P. Gould, Pitzer College Board of Trustees

Resources

Donald P. Gould, Pitzer College Board of Trustees – Don Gould is the founder, president and chief investment officer of Gould Asset Management of Claremont, California, which manages more than $450 million for individuals, families and nonprofits. He brings a broad understanding of both the business and the practice of financial asset management, gained over three decades of industry experience. Don is a trustee and chair of the investment committee at Pitzer College in Claremont.  In 2014 he led a college-wide climate action working group that crafted an ambitious multipronged plan to address climate change. Accepting the recommendations of the working group, in April 2014, Pitzer announced its intention to divest its $125 million endowment of substantially all fossil fuel stocks by year-end. Don holds a BA in economics from Pomona College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a visiting lecturer in portfolio management at Claremont McKenna College, and previously taught at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at the Claremont Graduate University. He is a former president the Pomona College Alumni Association and has served on numerous non-profit boards.

Eric Becker, Sterling College Board of Trustees – Eric is chief investment officer at Clean Yield Asset Management in Norwich, Vermont. He has been engaged in social and environmental investing since 1993. He joined Clean Yield in 2009 after 16 years as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for Trillium Asset Management in Boston. Eric is a founding member of the Slow Money Alliance, and until 2013 served as a founding board member of The Carrot Project, a sustainable agriculture finance organization. He is a Trustee of Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, which focuses on environmental stewardship and sustainable agriculture. He is also senior fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program. Eric holds a B.A. in Comparative Religion from Haverford College and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute.

Dan Curran, President of the University of Dayton – Dr. Daniel J. Curran has served as the University of Dayton’s 18th president and first lay leader for the past decade. He is guiding the Catholic, Marianist university through transformational times and presiding over an era of remarkable growth. During his tenure, the University of Dayton earned recognition as a top-tier research university. By almost every measure — from enrollment to research dollars to rankings — the University has grown in stature. Major land acquisitions since 2005 have nearly doubled the size of campus, which now spans both sides of the Great Miami River. The pace of change has been among the most rapid and substantial seen at any American university. Dr. Curran earned a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in 1980 after receiving a master’s degree from Temple University in 1978 and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University in 1973 — all in sociology. He’s a noted scholar in criminology, juvenile justice and social problems, with a deep interest in international issues.

Presentations

Reinvestment Possibilities – Ken Locklin, IMPAX, Karina Funk, Brown Advisory