Chrissa Pagitsas is a dynamic leader who unlocks innovation and growth potential by bridging sustainability and business. Her deep professional expertise in financial services and real estate includes building a $51 billion Green Bond business and launching the ESG strategy at Fannie Mae. Chrissa’s book “Chief Sustainability Officers At Work,” is a best seller on Amazon and reveals in-depth insights from conversations with Chief Sustainability Officers at Coca-Cola, Amazon, BlackRock, and other Fortune 500 companies. Chrissa was recognized as a “Green Bond Champion” by the Climate Bonds Initiative and awarded the Leadership award by the US Green Building Council for her market-transforming innovations as an executive at Fannie Mae.
As Founding Principal at Polarization Risk Advisory, Dan works with companies, philanthropy, nonprofits, and other institutions on efforts to address polarization. An Army veteran and experienced public engagement professional, Dan brings a unique understanding of how people relate to groups, information, and society in order to help his clients build strong teams, communicate more impactfully, and drive change. Dan has led some of the most influential public-opinion studies on polarization in America and worked with hundreds of different organizations on efforts to build common ground.
Dr. Rumman Chowdhury is a data scientist and social scientist. She is the CEO of the tech nonprofit Humane Intelligence, which builds a community of practice around evaluations of AI models, as well as the United States Science Envoy for Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Chowdhury is also Responsible AI Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Previously, Dr. Chowdhury was the Director of the ML Ethics, Transparency, and Accountability (META) team at Twitter, as well as the Global Lead for Responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence.
Micho Spring is a senior reputation strategist and crisis counselor, experienced public company Director and Boston business and civic leader. As a communications strategist for 30 years at Weber Shandwick, leader of its Global Corporate practice for over a decade and most recently its Chief Reputation Officer, Micho has counseled clients across industries on a wide range of reputational issues and crisis matters including CEO succession, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and regulatory matters, cultural transformation, ESG, corporate social responsibility and numerous societal issues. Micho brings extensive experience as a senior manager in both the public and private sectors to her work as a communications strategist, including six years as CEO of Boston Telecommunications Company, and four years as Deputy Mayor of Boston.
Virginia B. Tenpenny is an industry leader in corporate social impact with over 20 years of experience across ethical sourcing, philanthropy, sustainability, social innovation, and workforce development. As Starbucks’ former Chief Global Social Impact Officer, she led global strategy around the intersection of business priorities, social impact, philanthropy, and stakeholder engagement. Virginia joined Goodera in 2023 as President, North America and Chief Impact Officer where she helps companies connect the desire to do good with a global infrastructure of corporate volunteer programs that serve nonprofit needs and maximize impact. Virginia also serves on the board of directors of USA for UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees).
Takeo Nishitani has been acknowledged as one of Japan’s most articulate communications “bridges” and has served as a link between foreign companies and government agencies in Japan for more than forty years. Nishitani served as Chairman of Weber Shandwick Japan from 2011-2022. He provides strategic counsel to major clients in utilities, healthcare, manufacturing, financial and consumer/entertainment organizations, and public institutions. His broad experience includes consulting to multinational companies on their international strategies, on partnerships with Japanese companies, media relations, industrial relations, international trade issues and government affairs, and crisis management planning and execution. He is the author of Public Affairs Strategy, published by Toyo Keizai and the co-author of Future Managers by the Japan Productivity Center. He supervised the Japanese edition of Corporate Reputation published by Ittousha.
Michael helps enterprises solve complex problems through expert geopolitical risk analysis; counter-disinformation, strategic, contingency, and crisis communications campaigns; and team leadership in high-stakes, high-visibility environments. One of the very few former U.S. officials with recent, senior-level service inside China, Michael led the State Department’s largest overseas communications shop in Beijing. With over two decades of international experience as a diplomat and naval officer, Michael helps clients navigate ever-changing global conditions, including the interplay of the interagency, Capitol Hill, civil society, and the media. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the author of two children’s books.
Coalition for Rainforest Nations Executive Director
Kevin Conrad served as Papa New Guinea’s Special Envoy for Environment and Climate Change from 2005 to 2014. A leader of global efforts to quantify the value of tropical forests, he spearheaded the United Nations’ REDD (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries”) initiative and the establishment of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility at the World Bank.
Duke University Global Health Institute Founding Director Dr. Michael Merson is the former director of the World Health Organization (WHO) programs on diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections, the WHO’s Global Program on AIDS and Yale University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS.
Former senior White House policy advisor, ex-New Jersey State Investment Council Chair and current Boston Provident Managing Partner Orin Kramer has led and served on numerous state commissions and non-profit boards, published widely on the financial services industry and taught at Columbia Law School.