Conscious Capital: Your Money and Its Impact on the Climate
Your money has power—and every financial decision you make can contribute to or combat climate change. Whether you’re looking to align your investments with your values or simply curious about how your banking choices affect the environment, this event will empower you to take action.
Join us for Conscious Capital: Your Money and Its Impact on the Climate, an insightful conversation exploring the intersection of finance and sustainability.
We’ll dive into topics including:
Climate-conscious banking options
How to spot fossil fuel exposure in investments
Key questions to ask potential financial advisors
Ways to maximize your money’s climate impact
Enjoy light vegetarian bites, coffee, and non-alcoholic beverages. We look forward to seeing you there and exploring how mindful money choices can drive meaningful environmental change.
About the speakers:
Elizabeth Landau is the COO and Co-Founder of GreenPortfolio, your trusted guide that connects you with vetted financial advisors who specialize in climate-smart investing, so you can invest in your future and the planet's. With over 16 years of leadership experience in B2B and B2C product and brand strategy, Elizabeth has built and led high-growth businesses, including a $100M innovation pipeline at ABInBev for brands like Stella Artois and Goose Island. Now, as an entrepreneur, she is laser-focused on customer-led growth and sustainable investing, helping individuals align their financial decisions with their values. She earned a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Chris Castro is a climate and clean energy executive, sustainability professional, and eco-entrepreneur with a unique expertise in the policy, planning, design, and financing of decarbonization solutions for the power, buildings, and transportation sectors. Chris is currently the Founding Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Climate First Bank, the nation's first FDIC-insured digital community bank specializing in climate finance and values-based impact investing, and OneEthos, the climate finance fintech subsidiary of Climate First Bank. With a distinguished career in urban sustainability and clean energy, Chris has made significant contributions to environmental and climate initiatives across Florida and the U.S. Prior to joining Climate First Bank, Chris served as a presidential appointee for the Biden-Harris Administration as Chief of Staff for State and Community Energy Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he helped manage a multi-billion portfolio of grants and technical assistance programs to catalyze climate and clean energy projects nationwide. Chris's career also includes nearly a decade of service at the City of Orlando, Florida, where he held various roles, including Senior Advisor to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Director of Sustainability & Resilience. In addition to his public service, Chris is known for his eco-entrepreneurial efforts. He co-founded IDEAS For Us, a global UN-accredited nonprofit 501c3 advancing community-led sustainability projects, and started Citizen Energy, a clean-energy consulting firm specializing in clean energy retrofits to commercial and multifamily buildings. Chris also co-created Fleet Farming, an urban farming social enterprise program transforming lawns, schoolyards, and underutilized land into edible landscapes throughout Central Florida.
John Paul (“JP”) Moscarella is a Co-Founder and Member of Resilient Earth Capital, a collective of angel investors dedicated to fostering climate action through strategic funding and support. He’s also a Managing Director at CoolPact Capital, and one of the co-founders, which is focusing on bringing early growth capital to support early growth companies in sustainable cooling solutions in India. A serial entrepreneur, he has founded or co-founded six (6) companies and worked on climate solutions for over 35 years. Additionally, JP is a pioneer in the field of carbon credits and worked on its application since attending the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992 as an intern, and has raised capital for start-ups in climate, clean energy or carbon funds for approximately US$1.5 billion in total capital mobilization, including an IPO on the London AIM market in 2006 for Econergy, an early mover in clean energy and carbon credits in Latin America, later sold to Engie. Currently working with several climate firms including a community solar company (Neighborhood Sun in the USA) and a distributed solar company (9Energia in Brazil), Gybe (water analytics), Pirl (smart EV charger) and Earthshot Labs (Nature-based solutions developer globally) among others. MBA from Yale School of Management and BS in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. He is a native of Mexico and has worked in over 40 countries worldwide.
Hosted by Chief and moderated by: Manju Seal is the founder of Terra Impact, offering strategic advisory solutions in sustainable finance that chart clear pathways toward sustainability outcomes. Manju began her distinguished finance career at Goldman Sachs in FICC’s Structured Finance Group and brings extensive leadership experience across institutional asset management, investment banking, and debt capital markets. Recognized as a thought leader, she has built a reputation as a forward-thinker and trusted advisor in the field. Since 2003, she has championed transformative leadership and governance within nonprofits and social enterprises advancing social and environmental progress. A pioneer in sustainable finance, Manju played a pivotal role at BMO Financial Group, where she helped embed sustainability into Capital Markets Division offerings. As BMO’s inaugural Head of Sustainable Finance – Financial Group and Capital Markets ESG Lead, she was the Project Lead for the launch of BMO’s Sustainable Bond Program (2019) and its $500MM first sustainability bond issuance. She also drove enterprise-wide readiness for the public adoption of sustainable finance as a new line of business while serving on Fixed Income Sales Desk, and Debt Capital Markets Desk. In her role as BMO’s first sustainable finance banker, she established and led the Sustainable Finance Advisory within Capital Markets, guiding institutional and corporate clients on sustainable bond underwriting and product development. She also spearheaded enterprise-wide strategy and thought leadership on ESG and sustainability-aligned investments. Manju holds master’s degrees in business administration, mathematics, and ethnomusicology.
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of DC Climate Week.