Board of Directors
Rob Fohr serves as the Vice President for Strategic Alignment and Mid-Council Relations for the Presbyterian Foundation. Fohr joined the Foundation in November 2023. This newly created position will serve both the Presbyterian Foundation and New Covenant Trust Company, which is part of the Foundation, ensuring the two organizations are in alignment as both continue a strong path of growth. Additionally, Fohr will help build strategies and relationships with the goal of enhanced service to mid-council organizations in the PC(USA). Mid-councils are synods and presbyteries.
Previously he served in the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) since 2008, most recently as the Director of Faith-Based Investing and Corporate Engagement for the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA) where he served as lead staff person for the PCUSA’s committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI)—the committee charged with advancing the church’s mission goals through its invested capital. In addition to MRTI, Fohr has served in a variety of roles in the PMA, including as the chief staff person charged with advancing the agency-wide goal of helping the church connect more effectively with young adults. He has also served as the manager of organizational planning and effectiveness and was staff to the PCUSA’s Committee on Theological Education.
Fohr holds a Master of Arts in religion from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and has a bachelor’s in business administration from Abilene Christian University in Texas. Fohr serves on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility based in New York City. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the New Covenant Trust Company.
Laura Krausa is the System Director of Advocacy Programs for CommonSpirit Health – a nonprofit, Catholic health system operating 137 hospitals and more than 1000 care sites across 21 states with revenues of nearly $29 billion and charity care provided at over $4 billion. Laura oversees the organization’s Violence and Human Trafficking Prevention and Response Program, specifically guiding prevention efforts that include community-based violence prevention programs, public policy, and broad education and awareness initiatives. She is also responsible for the organization’s shareholder advocacy program, engaging the corporate sector as an institutional investor on issues relating to environmental justice, health justice and social justice.
Laura has extensive experience in violence prevention, and is a co-author of CommonSpirit Health’s Violence Prevention Resource Guide, a manual for creating and implementing violence prevention initiatives at the community level. She acts as a consulting partner to CommonSpirit communities engaging in violence prevention and has overseen over $25 million in grant-funded programs. Laura regularly presents in educational forums on the topics of human trafficking and community-based violence prevention to organizations such as the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association and Jones Day International Law Firm. She is a published author on human trafficking for Health Progress, and a co-drafter of a successful proposal to implement an ICD-10 code for human. Laura has served as a Forum Member for the National Academies of Sciences Forum on Global Violence Prevention and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking.
Since inheriting the work of shareholder advocacy for CommonSpirit Health, Laura has expanded the organization’s program to cover a broad range of topics in multiple sectors, including advocacy for health care access and coverage, drug pricing, opioids, access to medicines, access to food and water, safer chemicals, human trafficking, human rights, tobacco use, racial equity and violence prevention. Laura currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and is a member of the Board Nominating Committee.
Prior to her 12-year career with CommonSpirit Health, Laura worked in performing and visual arts administration, focusing on artistic programming, volunteer recruitment and management, development and fundraising, and youth safety in arts education. Laura also has nearly two decades of experience as a professional performing artist, specializing in theatre arts. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre from the University of Northern Colorado where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She holds a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Business Management from Regis University, where she graduated with highest honors.
Lisa Hayles is an investment manager in Trillium’s Boston Office who joined the firm in 2020. She has more than 18 years’ experience in sustainable investing, having worked in Canada, the UK and the U.S. advising clients on incorporating ESG analysis into investment approaches.
Lisa received her B.A.in Political Science and History from the University of Toronto and a M.Sc. in International Development from the University of Guelph. She also holds a French language Certificate for the University of Toulouse in France.
Charles Buck is President and Chief Executive Officer of United Church Funds (UCF), which provides sustainable and responsible investing solutions for faith-based non-profit organizations. Charles is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, and prior to UCF he served as the conference minister (judicatory executive) of Hawai`i and New Hampshire, and was a minister of local churches in Northern California and Hawai`i.
Charles has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations including ecumenical, health, education, publishing and civic organizations.
Born in San Francisco, he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, earned his Masters of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and holds a Ph.D. in historical musicology from Stanford University. He is married to Susan, and they have two adult children.
Geeta Aiyer combines over 30 years of experience in finance, with passion for environmental and social justice. She is Founder, President and Portfolio Manager at Boston Common Asset Management. The firm is a “Best for the World” honoree within the global B Corp community.
Geeta serves on the Board and Investment Committee of NRDC. She is also on the board of the Better Future Project in Massachusetts, and co-founder of DAWN Worldwide, an NGO working to end gender-based violence. Geeta has previously served on the boards of the Sierra Club Foundation, and YW Boston. From 2015-2017, she served on the Board of UN PRI.
In 2016, Geeta was honored by Investment News, as an Innovator whose new ideas and tools have propelled the industry forward. The 2017 UN Global Compact Report on Business Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) featured Geeta as a leader in the financial sector. Geeta is the recipient of the Joan Bavaria Award at the CERES conference in 2015 for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets and the SRI Service Award (2013), recognizing leadership and innovation in SRI (Sustainable, Responsible, Impact) investing.
Before Boston Common, Geeta was President of Walden Asset Management, and has worked at US Trust Company (Boston) and Cambridge Associates. She has founded two prior companies: Walden Capital Management (1994), and East India Spice Co. (makers of Instant India curry pastes). Geeta received her MBA from Harvard Business School; BA (Hons) and MA degrees from the University of Delhi, India. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Jake joined Wespath in January 2020. As the director of Sustainable Investment Stewardship (SIS) for Wespath and its subsidiaries’ investment programs, Jake leads Wespath’s shareholder advocacy and engagement efforts. Specifically, the SIS team focuses on engagement efforts that align with the values of The United Methodist Church and support the transition to a sustainable global economy. Previously Jake was an institutional consultant at Morgan Stanley’s Graystone Consulting where he focused on engagement with faith-based and impact-oriented institutional investors. Jake serves on the advisory, board of the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Stewardship Advisory Committee, and co-leads the asset manager engagement track of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance. Jake received his bachelor’s degree in Economics, International Studies and Political Science from Ohio Wesleyan University. He also holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation.
Alison is a Vice President at 1919 Investment Counsel and the Head of Social Research. As a Social Research Analyst, she specializes in Corporate Responsibility research. In addition, she is a member of the Proxy Committee.
Alison joined the Socially Responsive Investing team at Scudder, Stevens and Clark (a predecessor firm) in 1996. Previous to joining the firm she was on the staff of a multi-disciplinary university-based group pursuing development of an undergraduate business school curriculum that embraced sustainability.
Alison is a member of the FTSE4Good US Advisory Committee. Alison regularly represents the firm at meetings of socially responsible investing-related organizations.
Alison is a graduate of the University of Arizona and the graduate studies program in Economics at Miami University of Ohio.
Joshua Brockwell CSRICTM is the Director of Investment Communications at Azzad. He manages client-facing communications for the Azzad Funds and the Azzad Ethical Wrap Program. He has more than a decade of experience in the financial services field, including positions with T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and the boutique cooperative mutual fund company, Homestead Funds. Mr. Brockwell holds bachelor’s degrees in French and International Relations from Centre College where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He holds an MBA from the University of Maryland (UMUC). As a Fulbright Fellowship recipient in 2002, Mr. Brockwell taught marketing to business students in Dijon, France.
Reverend Eric Darrisaw is Director of Church of God in Christ (COGIC) First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Eastern New York Urban Initiatives and Social Justice Ministry.
Eric has 30 years’ experience in the investment industry. He began his career at Cartwright Proxy Research, an African-American owned Corporate Governance Research and Advisory firm, providing voting recommendations to institutional investors during the annual proxy season.
Eric served as Senior Advisor to the President and National Board of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an AFL-CIO Senior Constituency Group and Black Labor Civil Rights Organization. During his tenure, he co-founded its Fiduciary Education and Capital Stewardship Program for minority pension fund trustees.
He is an Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA) Human Capital (HC), Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Practice Senior Advisor and Board Member. The EEA is a coalition of business professionals, academics, and companies dedicated to the principles of Stakeholder Capitalism and to its implementation through a formal, strategic and systematic enterprise-wide endeavor that “begins with people and ends with profitability.” This expert organization is pioneering the use of International Standardization Organization (ISO) quality management metrics for investor internal and external human capital reporting.
Eric is Principal of Lazarus Advisors LLC and serves on The Croatan Institute’s Racial Equity Economics Finance and Sustainability (REEFS) Research Steering Committee.
Reverend Darrisaw is committed to advocacy work in the areas of civil rights, environmental, social justice and corporate accountability.
Dr. Anna Falkenberg is currently the Executive Director of the Socially Responsible Investment Coalition (SRIC), a diverse group of investors committed to creating a more just and sustainable world through corporate responsibility since 1982. She began working in 2013 for SRIC members by facilitating all aspects of shareholder corporate engagements through dialogues, the proxy resolution process, and presentations at corporate AGMs. She has also organized state-level legislative advocacy campaigns promoting access to affordable healthcare and education financing, as well as educating members and the community about relevant issues in yearly SRIC Annual Educational Events. In 2015, SRIC hosted the ICCR Annual General Meeting in San Antonio. In addition to managing this national meeting, Anna organized tours to the Eagle Ford Shale Development area to show the impacts of Fracking by oil and gas companies as well as a trip in cooperation with the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras to an industrial park and local communities in Mexico to learn about working conditions and community issues from impacted workers. SRIC has recently hosted investors interested in visiting an immigrant detention center in South Texas. Anna has also participated in site visits sponsored by the Mining and Faith Reflections Initiative to gold and coal mines in Peru, Ghana and Colombia.
Prior to serving as Executive Director for SRIC, Anna had a career in university and public school teaching and administration. She developed and taught courses at Texas Lutheran University, Texas State University and the University of Texas at Austin. She also managed a large university career center serving 12000 students for the College of Liberal Arts at UT. Her community involvement currently includes work with the Native Plant Society of Texas in San Antonio which advocates for protecting the state’s native plant heritage and preserving it for future generations. As a docent with the San Antonio Museum of Art, she educates others to appreciate art as varied expressions of the human experience and different cultures. Anna received her BA from Texas Lutheran University and an MA from Texas State University. Her doctorate in Higher Education Administration was awarded by the University of Texas at Austin.
Sonia Kowal is the president of Zevin Asset Management, with responsibility for corporate matters, business practices, strategic planning, and marketing. She is also a member of the firm’s investment committee, where she incorporates sustainability issues into investment decision making. She oversees environmental, social, and governance research, proxy voting, and the corporate engagement strategies of the firm. Previously, Sonia headed Ethical Investment Research Services’ (EIRIS) U.S. office and was a portfolio manager and investment research analyst at Baillie Gifford in Scotland, where she had responsibility for investments in Emerging Markets. Sonia holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh and an MS in Investment Analysis from the University of Stirling, Scotland. She is currently on the board of Womenade Boston, a women’s giving circle dedicated to raising awareness and funds for programs that positively impact the lives of women and teen girls in the Boston area.
James Malone is the chief financial and diversity officer at Community Capital Management. James is responsible for overseeing the firm’s finance operations and financial reporting as well as establishing policies and opportunities to foster an inclusive, equitable, and supportive work environment. He also spends his time on business development with religious organizations. James is a member of CCM’s Board of Directors, DEI Committee, and Investment, Trading & Valuation Committee. He joined CCM from Franklin Templeton, where he was a vice president for the investment platform division responsible for business development with research platforms across multiple distribution channels. In this role, he generated significant mutual fund platform wins and new sub-advisory mandates with major financial institutions. Prior to this, James was a senior product manager at Putnam Investments responsible for product management of various alternative investments, including the THL Partners private equity funds. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is on the board of directors and Finance Committee (Chair) of Sawgrass Adventist School, a private elementary school in South Florida. James also serves on the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Broward County, Florida. James received his B.S. in finance and accounting from Northeastern University. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of South Florida. He holds FINRA licenses: Series 7 and 63.
Mary Minette is the Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy at Mercy Investment Services.
Sister Jean is a member of the Felician Sisters of North America (FSNA) and currently holds the position of Provincial Sustainability Coordinator. She oversees environmental projects for the province and speaks on issues of care for creation. Sister Jean chairs the FSNA Socially Responsible Investment Committee and is a member of the Buffalo Diocesan Care for Creation Committee and the Interfaith Climate Justice Community in the Buffalo area. She holds an AAS degree in Ophthalmic Dispensing from Erie Community College; an AAS degree in Food Service Management from Villa Maria College; a BS degree in Management from Houghton University; and a Masters degree in Environmental Policy and Management from American Public University.
Courtney Wicks has served as the Executive Director of IASJ since October 2021. Wicks is an experienced professional with proven management skills and a strong record of accomplishment in the development and implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies, policies, and objectives. She assumed her duties on October 18, 2021.
Courtney Wicks has 15 years of experience in the development and implementation of strategies, policies, and practices that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”). She has a track record of driving transformational change and creates meaningful impact that helps attract, retain, and engage a diverse community while building DE&I leadership capabilities across the organization.
Courtney began her career as a community organizer. She was most effective at building consensus and bridges between community organizations and institutional leadership on public policy initiatives concerning criminal justice reform, economic inclusion, environmental justice, health equity, and school equity and access. Courtney’s ability to work with diverse constituencies and translate community-based issues to government and institutional leaders landed her a Chief of Staff role within the State of New Jersey’s General Assembly.
One of Courtney’s most notable achievements was working with the Ramopough Indians leadership to galvanize support from members of NJ’s Congressional delegation and the Governor’s office for state and federal resources concerning an environmental disaster caused by Ford Motor Company’s illegal dumping on Ramapough lands. Courtney also received the Barack Obama Leadership award from the NAACP in 2014 for her work on criminal justice reform and school equity and access public policy initiatives. Franklin Walker, Superintendent of Jersey City Public Schools, appreciated her assistance in the development of the Athletes’ Academy, a college readiness program for athletes across the Jersey City school district. “Courtney Wicks is an individual who can be presented with a problem, size it up quickly, and develop a solution.”
Most recently, Wicks held the position of Senior Vice President for Community Development at the Peyser Real Estate Group. At Peyser, she worked across departments to assure that the company’s real estate development projects and investment strategy were aligned with the diverse needs of communities in underinvested areas.
Courtney Wicks earned a B.S. in Business Management at Saint Peter’s University and is currently earning an M.S. in Organizational Leadership and Development at Columbia University (2022).