Justin is vice president of investment partnerships at Calvert Impact Capital, an impact investment firm focused on investing in  racial, gender, economic, and climate justice. Justin manages the Community Investment Note program and the Investor Relations team that supports over 20,000 investors and financial professionals. He serves on the Staff Investment Committee, and led Calvert Impact Capital’s subsidiary investment advisor in providing customized portfolio services to institutional investors. Justin has a Master’s in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s in Sociology and Statistics from James Madison University.

Read retired after a forty-year career in sales, customer service and marketing. He takes special pride in knowing that good hiring decisions were at the root of his success. During his career, he worked exclusively for family owned businesses, most of them small and several of them start-ups. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1972. Read has traveled in West Africa, Central and South America to see the economic challenges faced by much of the world’s population. Envest presents an opportunity to participate in addressing these challenges.

Nick worked as Envest’s director of operations from July 2018 to April 2019. He then joined the advisory board so he can be part of the Envest community as a volunteer.  Prior to working with Envest, he held a number of positions in both the public and private sectors where he focused on international trade and agricultural development. He has experience in East and Southern Africa, and is committed to promoting economic opportunity in developing markets through microfinance.

Afsana is an impact investing professional with wealth, asset, and portfolio management experience in public and private markets. She brings 14 years of experience in financial services, including expertise in due diligence. As the Director of Relationship Management at Adasina Social Capital, an asset management firm, Afsana leads the firm’s relationship cultivation strategy and product due diligence engagements. Originally from Bangladesh, in 2013, Afsana also gained brief yet life-changing experience in the nonprofit management sector, working to alleviate poverty through trade and microfinance. She is passionate about solving critical social and environmental issues and holds an MBA from Brandeis University.

Mirzo has worked for years for one of the largest banks in the US. He has a business finance and banking degree from the University of Nebraska. Mirzo is originally from Tajikistan and is fluent in English, Russian and Tajik. His understanding of the business and banking culture in both Tajikistan and the U.S. coupled with his experience in international banking gives him a valuable perspective from which to contribute to Envest’s mission.

Andy is a Certified Financial Planner® and expert in community investments. Together with his wife he runs a financial planning firm in Louisville, Kentucky, which serves clients in more than 25 states. Andy is a lifelong social activist who has won multiple awards for community investment work. He is a member of Natural Investments, an investment advisory network dedicated to environmental sustainability and social justice.

Aicha has a B.A. in political science from Eastern CT State University and is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha honor societies. She is passionate about community building as well as the intersections between people, policy, profit, and the planet. Aicha has engaged with a wide range of investment, nonprofit, and higher education stakeholders through research and event management as a sustainable investing program manager, with a focus on facilitating meaningful connections, advancing education and action related to mission-aligned investing. She speaks Spanish, French, Wolof and brings a global perspective from cultural insights to climate justice research and an interest in microfinance as a driver of inclusive, community-based development.

Malaika is a private wealth advisor with Natural Investments LLC, an investment advisory firm providing portfolio management by using exclusively socially responsible and green investments. Malaika’s investment approach with her clients mirrors her strong personal dedication to sustainable communities, regenerative agriculture, social justice, and alleviation of global poverty. She is committed to using sound financial and economic principals to create a positive change in the world while building a secure financial future for her clients.

David is a social entrepreneur and retired Episcopal priest who worked on anti-apartheid education, nonprofit development, and Africa-focused philanthropy. Based in Seattle, he enjoys camping, hiking, and travel. For over 35 years he has supported microfinance, including a decade of volunteer leadership with Oikocredit, a pioneering development finance cooperative. One of his proudest achievements was collecting and publishing the banned writings of South African activist Steve Biko after his death in police custody. The resulting book, I WRITE WHAT I LIKE, has remained in print for 50 years.

Mel has retired from his position of chief economist of First Affirmative Financial Network, a nationwide network of socially responsible investment advisers headquartered in Colorado Springs. Mel was the chief investment officer for Heartland Financial USA for 28 years. He has recently moved to Madison, WI with his wife Marie. Mel’s deep insights into economics and financial markets, his strong commitment to social responsible investing and social justice, and his slightly warped sense of humor will be excellent additions to the Envest community.

Takunda led digital strategy and growth marketing initiatives at Hyatt in Zimbabwe. He also contributed to global impact work with the Global Shapers Harare Hub, advocating for digital inclusion at the 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. As a founder, he has built solutions rooted in local insight and pursued an MBA at Duke University to explore how capital can drive sustainable progress. He brings this combined experience to help Envest better understand, engage, and invest in complex but high-potential African markets.

Sarah is thrilled to continue her involvement with Envest after serving as Director of Investments from 2020-2024. She began her career in microfinance in Guatemala and has since spent a decade working at the intersection of the international development, finance, and startup spaces. She is currently dedicated to strategic consulting engagements for social enterprises through the vChief network, while also pursuing education and practice in the somatic health and healing fields. Sarah holds a BS degrees in International Business and Accounting and splits her time between San Diego, California, and Karnataka, India with her husband and pup, Coconut.

Morgan is the Community Engagement Manager at Morningstar. She is responsible for curating and implementing programs to benefit the communities in which the firm operates as well as developing the firm’s corporate giving strategy. Previously, Morgan worked in trading operations, gaining a deep understanding of financial markets and the intricacies of investment strategies. Morgan is currently an MBA candidate at Kellogg School of Management in the Evening and Weekend program, where she serves as the Student Association Vice President of Community Impact. She is also the Co-Chair of the Young Leaders Fund of the Chicago Community Trust and a Board Member and Secretary of Holiday Heroes.

Ebony is a dedicated, solution-oriented social entrepreneur who helps investors and philanthropists make wise and strategic decisions. As Managing Director at NeighborWorks Capital, she leads its capital strategy to help support local communities across USA. Ebony has served as Director of Impact Investments at United Healthcare, and as the Vice-President of Investor Relations at Self-Help, one of the nation’s largest community development financial institutions. She holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Claflin University as a summa cum laude graduate. She also has an Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Duke University.

Julia first became involved with Envest through a business class at the UW when Envest was just beginning. Immediately sold on Envest’s microfinance vision, she became intensely involved with Envest during its early development, leading initial marketing and communications and meeting with some of Envest’s first MFI partners in Nicaragua.  Since then she has worked in the nonprofit sector in communications and earned her MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.  She is delighted to return to Envest to help with Envest’s expanding marketing opportunities.

Anna joined Envest in 2016 as an intern and then transitioned into the role of marketing director. A year later she was the Latin American Regional Representative and working closely with MFIs. Anna is passionate about the positive social and environmental changes microfinance is creating in developing markets. Before joining Envest, Anna worked in both Brazil and Chile with a focus on market analysis and international trade. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a BBA in Marketing and a certificate in Spanish.

Holly initially was part of Envest as director of operations until returning to her hometown of Minneapolis in 2018 at which time she joined Envest’s advisory board. Prior to joining Envest, Holly worked in the commercial real estate industry. She also had the role of finance manager for the Nature Conservancy’s MN/ND/SD chapter. Holly remains passionate about microfinance as a sustainable contributor to the eradication of global poverty. She holds BA degrees in Economics and French.

David is an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University. His research interests include comparative authoritarianism, international political economy, and democratization in post-communist Eurasia and Iran. He is the coauthor of the book “Under Siege: Inter-ethnic Relations in De Facto Abkhazia”, as well as articles in the Journal of International Affairs, Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, and Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies. He has worked on several projects concerning legislative institutions under autocracy in Russia and Georgia.