Details
DATE: Wednesday, January 17
TIME: 5:30 Networking; 6:00 pm Program Start
LOCATION: Greenberg Traurig, LLP One Vanderbilt Avenue New York, NY 10017
COST: $10.00
About this event
Attend this SILC event to hear from sustainability trailblazers Emily Kreps, the Global Head of ESG and Sustainable Finance at Deutsche Bank, and Kristen Sullivan, Partner at Deloitte, as they dive into the key highlights from COP28. Gal Shargil-Yaari, Senior ESG Advisor, Rho Impact will moderate this session, highlighting major trends and essential insights from this groundbreaking event.
They’ll unravel the fantastic strides forward, shine a light on the opportunities that slipped by, and uncover how the outcomes of COP28 might shape the game plan for your own, or your clients’, corporate sustainability/ESG goals in 2024 and beyond. It’s a chance to explore the wins, the misses, and the impact on the future of sustainability initiatives – straight from the experts at the forefront of this movement!
Moderator
Gal Shargil-Yaari,
Senior ESG Advisor
Rho Impact
Gal Shargil-Yaari is a Senior ESG advisor at Rho Impact, an impact data, forecasting, and ESG consulting group, where she leads the company’s regulations and compliance practices. Additionally, she serves as a steering member for the New York State Bar ESG Committee. Gal is a certified attorney specializing in corporate and non-profit law, bringing over twelve years of experience in corporate governance and not-for-profits.
During her career, she has developed expertise in social responsibility, including spearheading the establishment of the first-ever student-led Ladies Circle Foundation worldwide. Gal also authored a thesis on Regulating Corporate Responsibility. As the corporate landscape shifts from considering corporate responsibility as a “nice to have” to mandatory compliance, Gal is focusing on emphasizing the crucial role that legal professionals play in the evolution of ESG.
Gal founded the Corporate Responsibility Association, the first corporate responsibility-focused student association at her alma mater, Columbia Law School. Following her studies and research on the relationship between law and social impact, she also developed the Law School’s Social Impact Program to engage law students in social problem-solving.
Passionate about sharing ESG knowledge, Gal mentors for several impact-focused accelerators in New York and London, including WEVE, Element 46, JVP Climate Accelerator, and Climate First. Additionally, she serves as a board member for PollyLabs, a venture studio focused on technology repurposing for impactful innovation.
Gal holds an LLM from Columbia Law School, an MA from the Fletcher School of International Affairs at Tufts University, a BA in Governance, and an LLB from Reichman University. She resides in NYC with her husband, her 3-year-old son, and their dog.
Speakers
Kristen B. Sullivan,
Audit & Assurance Partner
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Kristen B. Sullivan is an Audit & Assurance partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP and leads Sustainability and ESG Services. She also serves as the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s Global Audit & Assurance Sustainability and Climate Services Leader and the Integrated Reporting Community of Practice Leader. Kristen brings extensive experience in delivering sustainability risk assessment, governance, strategy alignment, measurement, reporting, and assurance services.
Given the growing market emphasis on the importance of ESG standards and frameworks, Kristen serves as a member of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Community, she chairs the AICPA Sustainability Advisory and Assurance Task Force and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)/AICPA Task Force. She previously served on the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Working Group.
Kristen has authored a number of publications around the importance of sustainability and ESG disclosure and assurance. She was #23 on the 2023 Onalytica top 50 ESG influencers list, recognized as an ESG, Diversity, and Climate Trailblazer as part of Diligent’s 2023 Modern Governance 100 nominees, and #10 on the 2020 Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders list.
Kristen has more than 27 years of experience with Deloitte, beginning her career in Deloitte’s Audit and Advisory Services, working in Deloitte’s National Office in several capacities, and working with the deputy CEO of Deloitte LLP focused on regulatory and public policy matters. Kristen is a CPA (CT, MO) and CGMA and earned SASB’s Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential. Kristen completed the Berkeley Law Executive Education Certification: ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role and the Diligent Institute Climate Leadership Certification.
Kristen is a member of the Financial Women’s Association and lives in Greenwich, CT, with her five-year-old daughter.
Emily Kreps,
Global Head ESG and Sustainable Finance
Investment Bank O&A
Head of ESG, Americas
Deutsche Bank
Emily Kreps is Global Head ESG and Sustainable Finance at Investment Bank O&A and Head of ESG, Americas at Deutsche Bank. She focuses on ESG strategy, content generation, internal stakeholder management and client engagement, in partnership with our client coverage teams. Her work in the Americas region includes setting and executing the regional strategy for the bank, working across the business units as well with finance, risk, regulatory and political affairs. She is a member of the bank’s Global Sustainability Strategy Steering Committee which is responsible for setting and driving sustainability for the Group.
Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Emily led the Global Capital Markets team at CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), a leading environmental non-profit defining key aspects of the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions. Emily brings more than a decade of experience as an investment banker, formerly at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. In a previous career she led sustainable and responsible businesses, including a period as head of corporate development for a renewable and alternative energy company, as well as various start-up CFO positions in the impact investing space.
Emily is an expert in ESG disclosure, taxonomies, and the linkage to capital markets impact. She serves as the executive sponsor of Deutsche Bank’s Women on Wall Street employee resource group. She received her degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Stanley Goldstein, one of the founders of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, launched the accounting firm Goldstein Golub & Kessler (now part of RSM). After the firm was bought, Stanley became a private equity investor and is now the Chairman of Knickerbocker Financial Group. Mr. Goldstein has served on numerous corporate boards and is the founder of American Friends of James Joyce, The New York Hedge Alternative Investment Roundtable and Donors' Forum (a philanthropic roundtable).
Rebecca Craft
Andrea Schmitz
Nidhi Chadda
Jeffrey Yin currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of Artsy (
Sarah Tomolonius is the Vice President of Investor Relations at M13, a consumer tech-focused full-service venture capital engine. Ms. Tomolonius is the co-founder of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council. Ms. Tomolonius served as Vice President, Marketing and Investor Relations for Arlon Group, a food and agriculture investment firm, from December 2012 to June 2018, and served as Senior Professional, Management Reporting & Analytics from December 2010 to December 2012. From October 2008 to December 2010, Ms. Tomolonius served as Associate, Investor Relations for Citi Private Equity, a private equity group that was acquired by StepStone Group in October 2010. From October 2005 to September 2007, Ms. Tomolonius served as Research Analyst, Corporate & Public Affairs Group of Edelman, a global public relations firm. Ms. Tomolonius served as Program Assistant, Water & Coastal Program of Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit international environmental advocacy group, from October 2002 to September 2005. Ms. Tomolonius has served as a Director on the Board of Quest Resource Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: QRHC) since 2016 and is a member of the Audit and Nominations & Governance Committees. Ms. Tomolonius also served in numerous board capacities for non-profit organizations, including Chair of the Sustainability Committee for the New York Alternative Investment Roundtable and President of the Board of HeARTs Speak, a nonprofit organization, from February 2014 to February 2017, and she remains a board member for the organization.
Mohita Sinha serves as the Co-Chair of SILC’s Education Committee. With extensive experience leading complex finance and risk regulatory reporting transformations at global financial institutions, Mohita helps organizations evolve from voluntary action to regulatory compliance to true value creation. Her current focus is on climate risk integration, guiding companies to understand, operationalize, and embed risk considerations into business strategy while meeting compliance requirements.
Jessica Moon, Education Co-Chair, is a strategic leader at the Sustainable Investment Leadership Council (SILC), where she champions the integration of sustainability into core business and investment strategies. She designs and leads convenings that unite leading cross-sector professionals in critical dialogues focused on unlocking sustainable financial returns through innovative solutions. With over two decades of experience, Jessica brings a unique perspective, combining her legal acumen with deep sustainability expertise and a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of business functions. Her leadership at Scholastic Inc., where she pioneered their ESG & Sustainability function, demonstrates her ability to develop and implement strategies that drive both environmental and financial value. Jessica empowers leaders to see sustainability as a key driver of strategic advantage and long-term financial success, fostering a future where impact and returns are intrinsically linked.
Dr. Michael Kraten is an executive management consultant and business educator. He maintains specialties in entrepreneurship, business modeling, decision analysis, sustainability and resilience, educational gaming, strategic planning, valuation, risk management, and forensic analysis.
Sophia Shahabadi
As a Managing Director at Silver Leaf Partners and sustainable finance subject matter expert, Marc Tannous established the Sustainable Finance Practice as a service organization to represent managers and companies seeking alpha by scaling sustainability / impact solutions. The Practice provides capital introduction, customer referral, and advisory consulting. 
Sydney Improta
As a coach, facilitator and consultant, Deborah Goldstein works with NY, U.S. and international organizations and individuals who are motivated to thrive in the 21stcentury workplace environment.
Jason Dodier is an American international business professional at Schneider Electric, which is the global specialist in energy management. Since commencing his career with Schneider Electric, Jason has lived in the United States, Middle East and Europe, while performing a variety of functions on behalf of the company in operations, business development, marketing and sales management. Jason is currently a Corporate Ambassador for electrical distribution, communications technology, sustainability, and innovation, activity on social media and delivering speeches on these topics worldwide.
Fitzgerald Angrand is a transactional attorney specializing in debt finance and alternative investments in the cannabis industry, representing investors, private equity funds, private debt funds, family offices, distressed debt funds, lenders and operating companies.
Matthew Levy is a Manager with PKF O’Connor Davies in the Not-for-Profit Services Group. He is a CPA and has been with PKFOD since 2012. He graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He currently serves as the treasurer of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council.
Heather Loebner leads Sustainability and ESG strategy at CircleIT, a B Corporation in the IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) industry. Sustainability plays a critical role at CircleIT, focused on repurposing IT devices at end-of-life and eliminating e-waste aligned with a circular economy model. Loebner leads an internal and client-facing ESG strategy that increases transparency, establishes a path to carbon neutrality and net zero, and builds social and environmental impact through strong governance aligned with B Corporate values and certification.
J. Michael Kirkland, CPA, CGMA is a veteran financial executive with over 30 years of experience in accounting, industry, consulting, and business development. He also serves the CPA profession with distinction, lending strong and visible leadership to professional and student groups.