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John Denniston is the Chairman of the Board of Shared-X, a company that aims to improve agricultural productivity in Latin America while doing good. The company’s three objectives are: (1) produce attractive financial returns for its investors; (2) lift 12,000 Latin Americans out of extreme poverty by virtue of the business model; and (3) deploy highly sustainable farming practices in regions of the world that have rarely seen them. For many years, he was a Partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. While there, he co-founded and co-ran the firm’s Green Growth Fund, which invests in sustainability companies in their growth stage. He holds a B.A. & J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Ron Gonen is the Co-founder and CEO of the Closed Loop Fund. The Closed Loop Fund was formed by a group of the world’s largest manufacturers, consumer goods companies and retailers to invest in municipal recycling and waste diversion programs. Prior to this, Ron was the Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling and Sustainability for New York City. He joined the Bloomberg administration with the task of rebuilding NYC’s recycling program and developing a plan to divert over 30% of New York’s waste stream from landfills by 2017 and over 70% by 2025. In 2013, NRDC and Earth Day New York named him as the Public Official of the Year in New York City. He has been a recipient of a number of environmental and business awards including being recognized as a “Champion of the Earth” by the United Nations Environment Program, which is the highest distinction for environmental protection given by the UN. He received an M.B.A from Columbia Business School.

Noelle Laing is a Managing Director in the Mission-Related Investing (MRI) Group at Cambridge Associates. She identifies and researches MRI managers across asset classes and serves as a resource to generalist investment directors in the firm. Prior to this, she was a senior investment advisor at the IAM National Pension Fund, where she focused on alternative assets. She also worked as a public markets investment analyst for the American Red Cross, where she conducted asset allocation analysis and manager due diligence for its public market portfolios. She began her career at Cambridge Associates as an investment associate in 2003. Noelle is a CFA charterholder and received a B.S. from St. Lawrence University.

Shawn Lesser is a Co-founder & Partner of Big Path Capital. He has over twenty years of experience in the financial advisory sector. Prior to co-founding Big Path, he founded the investment bank, Sustainable World Capital, which assisted cleantech companies in raising capital from European institutional investors. He has also been Co-head and Managing Director of the international equity teams at Morgan Keegan and Deutsche Bank. He is the author of the book, 2012 Global Cleantech Directory: 100 Cleantech Lists That Matter. In partnership with Michael Whelchel, Shawn has founded a number of initiatives which demonstrate the SmarterMoney+ concept of “maximize return, maximize impact.” Those include the Five Fund Forum, Impact Capitalism Summit and Impact & Sustainable Trade Missions. Shawn speaks at events around the world and partners with the U.S. Department of Commerce conducting the Impact and Sustainable Trade Mission across the globe. Shawn received his B.S. in Finance from Syracuse University.

Chintan Panchal is the founder of RPCK’s New York office. His legal practice focuses on structuring and advising on impact investing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, PE transactions, corporate governance & restructuring, joint ventures, and cross-border commercial transactions. Prior to RPCK, he worked in the New York, London and Hong Kong offices of Allen & Overy LLP. Before this, he clerked for the Hon. Judith Barzilay of the U.S. Court of International Trade, and sitting by designation at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In addition to his corporate practice, he has performed pro bono work representing displaced U.S. workers denied retraining benefits under the Workforce Reinvestment Act, and also served as a member of the team representing 11 Yemeni detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He received his B.A. in International Relations at the James Madison College of Michigan State University and his J.D. from Emory University School of Law.

Bonnie Saynay is the Global Head of Proxy Governance and Responsible Investment for Invesco. In this role, she oversees proxy voting, governance and responsible investment practices across the firm, including responsible investment strategy, governance, policy, investor/issuer engagement, reporting and process oversight. She also serves as the Chair of the Invesco Proxy Advisory Committee and liaises closely with investors on key proxy voting governance topics. She annually updates the board of directors, executive team, global investment teams and other internal stakeholders on proxy voting and corporate governance/RI trends. Additionally, she oversees the responsible investment activities at the firm level, including annual reporting and engagement with industry peers on responsible investing initiatives. Prior to Invesco, she worked as a contract management consultant within the public sector. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Wayne State University.