2026 Speakers

Amanda Bamberger

VP
EIF

Amanda Bamberger is a sustainability and impact focused investor working in early to growth stage venture capital. Amanda is a VP at Ecosystem Integrity Fund, a firm that has been investing in the renewable and cleantech sector for over a decade with $600M AUM. Prior to EIF, Amanda worked for a seed-stage venture firm brokering technologies to frontier and emerging markets. She has an undergraduate degree in Physics and a Masters of Science in Sustainable Engineering from Villanova University. Amanda brings together technical and business acumen to invest in and support startups that enable renewable and resilient energy systems.

Preeti Bhattacharji

Head of Sustainable Investing & Adjunct Professor
JPMC & Columbia University

Preeti Bhattacharji is the Head of Sustainable Investing for J.P. Morgan’s US Private Bank. In this role, she works with advisors and their clients to incorporate sustainability into their investment portfolios, develops thought leadership, and works with portfolio managers and due diligence colleagues to expand the Private Bank’s sustainable investing platform.

Preeti has over a decade of experience stewarding Sustainable Investments across asset classes and return profiles. Prior to JP Morgan, Preeti worked on post-investment engagement at Calvert Research & Management. Before that, she served as a Vice President of Integrated Capitals at the F.B. Heron Foundation, working to better align the foundation’s endowment with its mission, informing Heron’s long-term strategic direction, and helping to steward its investments across asset classes. Preeti has also served as the assistant director for the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing and a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she reported on global issues that included the global financial crisis and climate change. Preeti earned a B.A. from Columbia University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She serves on the Board of the Victoria Foundation and the Investment Committee of the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

Leslie Biddle

SVP, Commercial Solutions
NextEra Energy Resources

Leslie D. Biddle is senior vice president of commercial solutions at NextEra Energy Resources, where she oversees EverBright, gas infrastructure, Gexa and renewable natural gas.

Prior to joining NextEra Energy Resources, Ms. Biddle was Deputy Under Secretary for Commercialization and Finance at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Infrastructure where she focused on commercialization, market adoption, and private sector financing for its $100 billion in equity investments and $350 billion in debt investments. Before joining the DOE, Ms. Biddle was a partner at Serengeti Asset Management, a specialty investment firm focused on private and public credit opportunities and the development of financing platforms.

Ms. Biddle was a partner at Goldman Sachs and member of the senior commodities management team contributing to the growth of the business to more than $3 billion. She also served as a vice president at the AES Corporation focusing on power plant development, financing and acquisitions.

Ms. Biddle earned a bachelor’s degree from Colby College where she served as vice chair of the Board of Trustees and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She previously served as a board member of CenterPoint Energy, Cypress Creek Renewables, Nextracker and NatureVest.

Emily Chien

Executive Fellow
Harvard University

Emily Chien is a technologist and strategic leader specializing in Agentic AI, AI corporate governance, with three decades of experience helping businesses harness emerging technologies to drive innovation and impact. She is an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in how Agentic AI is reshaping markets, business models, and governance practices. She also serves on the IFRS Advisory Council in London, advising the ISSB and IASB on emerging technology’s impact on risk, sustainability and accounting standards.

At IBM Consulting, Emily was a Global Leader for Sustainability and Climate Risk Offerings, and served on IBM’s AI Ethics Board Use Case Review Committee. She also led global growth and partnership programs for IBM’s $17B Consulting division as Chief of Staff to the Global Senior Managing Partner, and earlier spearheaded AI solutions for major banks, insurers and investors as a leader in the AI practice. Appointed as an AI Fellow at the World Economic Forum, she has collaborated with Microsoft, Salesforce, and other industry leaders to advance responsible AI adoption.

Emily’s operating career spans senior executive roles at Prudential Financial, Fidelity Investments, JPMorgan Chase, and American Express, where she built and scaled market-leading platforms and billion-dollar businesses at the intersection of data, digital transformation, and customer experience. A trained CPA, she holds a U.S. patent for digital payments now used by Amazon and American Express. She earned her B.S. and M.A.S. degrees in Accountancy and AI/MIS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

A recognized thought leader in AI and sustainability, Emily has spoken at Chapter Zero, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Princeton, Boston University, and Private Equity International forums. She is Senior Editor, Sustainability for Harvard Social Impact Review and Founding Co-Chair of the 100 Women in Finance Sustainability Peer Advisory Group. Her industry engagement includes AAAI, NACD, Women Execs on Boards, Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA) and the Economic Club of New York.

Wendy Cromwell

Vice Chair
Wellington Management

Wendy is Vice Chair and Senior Managing Director at Wellington Management, where she contributes to the firm’s strategic initiatives and external affairs in close partnership with the CEO. She also serves as a senior advisor on sustainable investing, providing leadership both within the firm and across the broader investment industry. Externally, Wendy serves on the Board of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and is a member of the Investor Advisory Group of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Previously, she served on the Advisory Group of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and on the Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee (CFRAC) to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), chaired by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. A recognized thought leader, Wendy has shared her investment perspectives with Bloomberg TV, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Capital Allocators podcast. She has also been a featured speaker at leading industry conferences, including Responsible Investor, PRI in Person, and the Milken Institute.

Laura Nishikawa

Head of Emerging Risk R&D – Banks & Corporates Segment
MSCI

As Global Head of ESG Research, Laura Nishikawa oversees all ESG related content and methodology at MSCI, the largest provider of ESG Ratings and analytics to global institutional investors.

Laura leads one of the largest teams of research analysts in the world who are dedicated to identifying risks and opportunities arising from material ESG issues. Her team, located in 19 offices globally, develops innovative models, content, and tools to help clients incorporate ESG factors into their investment processes. She also led the methodology and design of ESG fixed income indexes and developed MSCI’s Green Bond Criteria.

Laura joined MSCI in 2010 through the acquisition of RiskMetrics, where she led ESG Ratings methodology development and was the head of fixed income and financial sector analysis.

Laura received her Master’s degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University (SIPA), and her Bachelor’s degree from McGill University, and is a CFA charter holder.

Yana Watson Kakar

MD and Head of the Americas
La Caisse

Yana Watson Kakar is Managing Director and Head of the Americas at La Caisse (CDPQ), a global investment group managing over US$380BN on behalf of 6 million Québecers. A member of the Global Management team, Yana oversees activities across the United States, representing US$170BN of assets, and works closely with asset class leaders to drive investment strategy, public private partnerships and execution across private equity, credit, infrastructure, and real estate. Yana also leads government relations and regulatory affairs for La Caisse across the US. Prior to joining La Caisse, Yana was Global Managing Partner and CEO of Dalberg, a multinational investment and strategy consulting firm. Yana holds a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University. She is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, and lives in New York with her husband, two children, and much-loved dog.