About the 2018 Mission Investing Institute

William Burckart is the President and COO of TIIP, where he helps institutional investors engage in system-level and SDG investing. He has been at the forefront of impact investing and has contributed to the field through groundbreaking research, including leading a multiyear field building effort focused on the financial services industry in collaboration with the Money Management Institute; managing the Johns Hopkins New Frontiers of Philanthropy Project; and was involved in the writing of the "Status of the Social impact investing Market: A Primer" that was distributed to policymakers at the inaugural G8-level forum on impact investing. Mr. Burckart is also a visiting scholar of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

John Cochrane is Senior Associate at the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, a field building organization dedicated to catalyzing the flow of private capital in the United States to projects and companies that create measurable social and environmental impact. At the Alliance, John helps to lead a range of program areas, including public policy advocacy, investor engagement and education, and the work of the Global Steering Group on Impact Investing. Prior to joining the Alliance, John was Associate Director for Social Innovation at the Council on Foundations, where he created programming to educate and train community, corporate and private foundations about the role impact investing could play in advancing their work. He has also worked with the Inter-American Development Bank, White House Business Council, U.S. State Department, and Morgan Stanley.

Rodney Foxworth is Executive Director of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), a network of social entrepreneurs, financial activists, and foundation leaders building inclusive economic opportunities through entrepreneurship and local business ownership in communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Previously, he was CEO and Founder of Invested Impact, a consulting firm focused on economic development, philanthropy, and social innovation, and co-founder and Strategy Advisor of Impact Hub Baltimore. Prior to founding Invested Impact, Rodney worked as community manager at BMe, a national network of black male leaders and entrepreneurs. As community manager, he led grantee outreach and selection across three cities and managed key stakeholder relationships in business, philanthropy, and media. Before his role at BMe, Rodney served as program manager at Job Opportunities Task Force, a policy advocacy and workforce development organization. Additionally, he has been a consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Calvert Impact Capital, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, among others. Rodney is a BALLE Fellow, Next City Vanguard, and Baltimore Business Journal "40 under 40" honoree. He is featured in the Washington Post best-seller, "Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding."

Nicole Kamaleson is an executive specializing in global social impact, human capital, organizational development, governance and human resources. Starting this fall, she will lead global development initiatives as managing director at Koya Leadership Partners, named one of Forbes’ top 15 “Best Executive Recruiting Firms of 2018.” Koya is dedicated to placing exceptionally talented leadership at mission-driven organizations.

Focusing on serving organizations that have a transformative impact on society, Nicole is passionate about identifying, engaging with and securing human capital solutions and results in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Nicole serves as a board member for the Global Fund for Children and holds a BA in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of Sioux Falls and an MA in Human Resources Development from Azusa Pacific University in California. Her work has spanned the globe from Thailand, Mozambique, India, Haiti to Bosnia and many places in between. She has worked and lived abroad for over 17 years in Romania, Kenya, Hungary, London and presently resides with her family in Chicago. Given this experience, Nicole understands that getting the human capital equation right is not only her day job, but her vocational call.

Ayesha Kiani is the Managing Director at Republic Crypto - A trusted presale token fundraising platform for all types of investors. She was previously at SingularDTV - A Consensys spoke. She's a Venture Partner at NextGen Ventures and a Board Member for Ventures for America. She has a Bachelors in Finance from Stern and JD from NYU Law School. She previously worked at Skadden.

Margaret W. Minnich is chief operating and financial officer for The California Wellness Foundation, where she oversees all finance, information technology, grants management and administrative activities. She is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Foundation, and, working closely with the CEO, helps develop and implement the Foundation’s vision and strategies. Minnich joined Cal Wellness in 1992 and has held the positions of director of finance and vice president of finance and administration. She was appointed chief operating officer in 2015. Before joining the Foundation, she worked as a manager at Micom, as a self-employed accountant and as senior accountant with the public accounting firm of Ernst and Young in Los Angeles. Minnich is a certified public accountant. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Southern California.

Christine Ryan is the Sr. PRI Analyst at TCE where her work focuses on programmatically aligning capital investments to support the growth of healthy, sustainable communities. Her responsibilities include portfolio management, compliance, underwriting, due diligence, and supporting new business development. Christine has financial and portfolio management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining TCE, she was a portfolio manager with the Office of Development Credit at the US Agency for International Development. She holds a B.S. in Finance from Fordham University and a Master’s in International Relations and Economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Kate Starr, is the Chief Investment Officer of Flat World Partners where she drives the investment philosophy, product development, and portfolio management for the firm. Previously, she led the capital deployment team at the Heron Foundation that invests Heron’s approximately $300 million portfolio for impact. Kate started her career as an economics and equities analyst at First Asset Management and moved into research on microfinance in Tanzania. She is a CFA and active member of NYSSA’s Sustainability Committee and advisor to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Kate also advises OpenInvest, an emerging technology to help individual investors customize their portfolios and to Humanity United’s Worker Innovation Fund. Kate graduated from Indiana University with an Honors degree in English and Italian, and earned a Master’s degree in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.

Gladys Washington is Deputy Director for the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With a mission of helping to move people and places out of poverty, the Foundation supports organizations and networks that work across racial, ethnic and political differences to foster greater social and economic justice. Gladys supervises the Foundation’s programmatic work in 11 Southern states. Prior to joining the Babcock Foundation, Gladys was a Program Officer for the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina. Gladys earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the College of Charleston and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina and the University of Charleston. In 2015, Gladys was named James A. Joseph Lecturer by the Association of Black Foundation Executives, the organization’s highest honor. She has served as Chairwoman of ABFE’s Board of Directors, and she has been featured by multiple publications, including Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Black Gives Back, the Center for Effective Philanthropy and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

Jalonne L. White-Newsome is senior program officer at The Kresge Foundation, responsible for the Environment Program’s grant portfolio on Climate Resilient & Equitable Water Systems (CREWS). Jalonne also leads the foundation’s work addressing the intersection of climate change and public health.Before joining Kresge in early 2016, Jalonne served as director of federal policy at West Harlem Environmental Action Inc. (WE ACT), where she was involved with leading national campaigns and a 42-member national coalition of environmental justice organizations. Her work helped ensure that the concerns of low-income communities of color were integrated into federal policy, particularly on clean air, climate change and health issues. She is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and continues to engage in research on climate, health and equity. She was recently appointed to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Environmental Change and Society, and is serving as a lead author for the human health chapter for the 4th National Climate Assessment.A native of Detroit, Jalonne earned a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health; a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Southern Methodist University; and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. She serves on the board of US Climate Action Network, and is a steering committee member of the Health Environmental Funder’s Network. Jalonne is a 2017 PLACES Fellow with The Funders Network.