Aya Naseem is a marine biologist, activist and female surf pioneer from the Maldives. Her lifelong mission is dedicated to securing the future of her homeland by restoring and protecting the coral reefs that have shaped the Maldives. Since co-founding the Maldives Coral Institute in 2019, she has spearheaded conservation and advocacy projects, raising public awareness and negotiating with stakeholders, local communities and international organisations for the preservation of the Maldives’ coral reefs.
Naseem played a pivotal role in the protests against authoritarian rule in the Maldives and was instrumental in helping to bring democracy and freedom to her country. In 2021, Naseem made history when she became the first-ever woman to win the Maldives National Surf Competition after extensive lobbying for women to be able to compete in the previously male-dominated sport.
Naseem studied marine biology and zoology at the University of Queensland, with honors in marine microbiology. She has previously worked independently and held positions at local consultancies Seamarc Pvt Ltd as coordinator, and at ReefTAC Maldives Pvt Ltd as director. Her roles included coordinating and conducting environmental impact assessments and marine surveys. Naseem has worked on the implementation of a number of coral propagation projects throughout the country, as well as community training programs. She served as a marine and environmental advisor to President Nasheed since 2016, utilizing her expertise and dedication to navigate the political struggles against authoritarian rule in the Maldives for over five years.
Anjali D. Boyd is a marine ecologist, educator, entrepreneur and elected official. At Duke University, she is a Ph.D. candidate and Dean’s Graduate Fellow in the Nicholas School of the Environment. In addition, she is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Ford Fellow and National Geographic Explorer. Her ongoing research focuses on developing more efficient and cost-effective restoration and management practices to restore and conserve vulnerable marine ecosystems. Boyd has published multiple scientific papers and reports, and her work has been recognized by the Smithsonian, NOAA, National Academy of Sciences, Aspen Institute and more.
Boyd is committed to increasing the representation of women and ethnic minorities in ocean science fields and elevating the voices and contributions of students and early-career scientists. She has held a myriad of leadership roles with prominent organizations and institutions. She is an early career liaisons to the U.S. National Committee for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, a member of the board of directors for Black Women in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Science, and has served on numerous committees and taskforces at Duke University, Eckerd College and the Ecological Society of America. As the director of iNviTechnology, she works to combat the underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities in STEM fields through educational entrepreneurial programs to engage children ages 0—5 and K—12 students. Anjali also serves as an elected official in her hometown of Durham, N.C. as the Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.
Garry Cooper is CEO & co-founder of Rheaply, a B2B climate technology company working to scale reuse and the circular economy by helping lower procurement costs and reduce waste. He also serves as a general partner with LongJump, a pre-seed venture fund based in Chicago and designed to invest in the next generation of underrepresented founders and overlooked ideas. Previously, Cooper was an adjunct assistant professor at Northwestern, helping trainees, faculty and staff more seamlessly connect to the Chicago business community. Prior to his faculty position, Garry facilitated supply chain and performance improvement for leading biotechnology enterprises at Ernst & Young. Before that, Cooper began his career as a postdoctoral fellow and visiting scholar at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he led the drug discovery effort for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, for which he holds a U.S. patent. He also serves as a board member of P33 Chicago, 1871, Northwestern’s Master of Product Design and Management program and Improovy, and is the chairman of the board of Rheaply.
He has been twice recognized as a Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs 2021 & 2022, an Emerson Collective Dial Fellow, one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 Chicago, Chicago Power 30, and Forbes Next 1000. He is a former Google for Entrepreneurs Fellow and a member of YPO Chicago Chapter, the Forbes Chicago Business Council, and The Economic Club of Chicago. Garry is a member of the 2023 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.
Nalleli Cobo led a grassroots campaign to permanently shut down a toxic oil well in her community. Cobo-Uriarte, 22, grew up in South Los Angeles and started engaging in activism at age 9. Over the years, she endured headaches, nosebleeds and heart palpitations caused by pollution from the well in her community. She gave her first public speech at age 10. Even as a child, her skills as an orator caught others’ attention and paved the way for her to eventually become the leading spokesperson for banning oil extraction in Los Angeles. Cobo-Uriarte co-founded People Not Pozos, an organization that aims to secure a safe and healthy neighborhood, and the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition, which focuses on ending environmental racism in Los Angeles. In March 2020, her organizing culminated in the definitive closure of the AllenCo drilling site across the street from her childhood home. Additionally, AllenCo executives are facing over 24 criminal charges for environmental health and safety violations thanks to her work.
Cobo-Uriarte was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19. After three surgeries and medical treatment, she was declared cancer-free. After years of tireless work by Cobo-Uriarte and many others, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to phase out oil drilling over the next 20 years. Her story and leadership also inspired the enactment of SB 1137, which bans all new oil wells within 3200 feet of communities in California. She won the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize and was named on the 2022 Time 100 Next list.
Taku Mutezo is a versatile international environmental lawyer, conducting research and consultancy work in rural Manicaland, Zimbabwe.
Inspired by an innate quest for justice, Mutezo left her family and home at 19 to pursue her dream of studying law. Her path led her back home as the first lawyer employed by a wildlife conservation non-profit in Zimbabwe.
Mutezo has advocated for legislation and policy change, with a keen focus on pangolin, the most trafficked mammal on the planet. She drafted and advocated for legislation/policy including laws passed in 2020, stipulating a minimum mandatory sentence of 9 years, for crimes against endangered species. Mutezo developed the first virtual training and mobile applications on wildlife law while at Tikki Hywood Foundation. She co-authored “The Handbook for Prosecuting Wildlife Crime,” with over 50,000 copies distributed and shared with rangers, police, prosecutors and judiciary. These efforts translated into an increased conviction rate and set precedence for wildlife crimes.
Mutezo is the youngest board member for Nyanga National Park. She is also an alumna of the Mandela Washington Fellowship and the Women for the Environment – Africa Fellowship. Mutezo is a researcher in the Interdisciplinary Conservation Network at Oxford University. She is also a recipient of a grant from the U.S State Department, for her efforts to modify, change and advance environmental laws to protect waterways polluted by gold mining. Mutezo has been awarded the 2023 Groningen University Alumni of the Year Award for “exceptional contribution to society, inspiration to others and promise for the future.”
Janice Tran is a leader and aims to be a champion for the clean energy industry across North America, where she develops and invests in innovative clean energy projects.
As a BIPOC woman leader and first-time CEO, Tran launched Kanin Energy in 2020. Kanin’s objective is to decarbonize heavy industry through waste heat recovery. In doing so, Kanin contributes carbon-free baseload electricity generation, thereby offsetting power produced from fossil fuels. Kanin aims to scale WHP through an innovative turnkey, third-party financing business model. Kanin hit the ground running, announcing its first commercial projects coming online in 2025 and being featured in Forbes and Harvard Business Review.
Prior to Kanin, Tran helped start the renewable micro-grids business line at NRG. She built one of North America’s largest portfolios of organic waste-to-energy investments at Generate Capital, a private investment firm that focuses on investing in renewable energy projects.
Beyond business, Tran lends her expertise to support others through mentorship and by being immersed in the energy ecosystem. She serves in many trade association groups and remains involved with Student Energy, the global youth-led organization she co-founded that empowers young people to accelerate the sustainable energy transition.
Tran is a licensed chartered professional accountant (CPA) in Canada. She holds a master’s degree in sustainability management from Columbia University, where she received an Earth Institute Fellowship, a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Saskatchewan, and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and commerce with a concentration in accounting from the University of Calgary.
Hana Raza is the founder and chairperson of Leopards Beyond Borders (LBB), a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to safeguarding and conserving Iraq’s threatened wildlife. She is an esteemed expert in the field of wildlife conservation, with a focus on mammal conservation, particularly Persian leopards (Panthera pardus tulliana) and their prey species. Raza is an active member of the IUCN Cat, Brown Bear, and Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Groups.
Raza’s contributions extend beyond her role at Leopards Beyond Borders. She also serves on the board of the Society for Conservation Biology Asia Region (SCB-Asia) and as a member of the steering committee of the Persian Leopard Working Group, an affiliate group to IUCN CSG. Additionally, Raza is a committee member of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) Conservation Fund and an editorial board member of their Sandgrouse Journal.
Raza received the “Future for Nature” award in 2017 for rediscovering the Persian leopard in Iraq. She was named an honoree and fellow of the Explorers Club 50, “50 People Changing the World the World Needs to Know About” in 2022. She and her team recently achieved a remarkable milestone documenting the first reproduction of the rare Persian leopard in Iraq.
Raza is a Chevening scholar and Newcastle University graduate with a master’s degree in ecology and wildlife conservation. After 14 years working with Nature Iraq, she established the first wildlife conservation-focused organization in 2022, which the board of environment has endorsed and collaborates with them as the leading wildlife conservation NGO in the region.
During his 25 years at UCLA Anderson, Dean Antonio “Tony” Bernardo estimates he’s taught more than 5,000 students. Bernardo says some of the best moments are when students walk into his office to dig deeper into a business issue — to learn beyond the classroom material. “Everyone on the faculty I know loves meeting with a hard-working, motivated student,” he says.
In 2019, Bernardo was appointed UCLA Anderson’s ninth dean, effective July 1.
Bernardo’s research spans various areas of corporate finance. His recent research on bailouts provided a set of policy recommendations to lawmakers looking to design bailouts for distressed firms. His current research looks at optimal capital structures, or how much debt and equity financing a firm should have. It suggests that capital structure decisions are determined, in part, by the debt choices other firms in the industry are making.
Another area Bernardo is exploring involves optimal compensation of doctors, and designing compensation systems for health providers. “I tend to work on topics that are very diverse,” Bernardo says. “I learn a lot that way.”
In addition to having an impressive list of published papers and working papers, as well as receiving numerous teaching awards, Bernardo serves as associate editor of the Critical Finance Review and Financial Management.
Meizani Irmadhiany is the executive chair of Konservasi Indonesia, a newly created national foundation she co-founded and Conservation International’s main partner in Indonesia.
Irmadhiany also advises Conservation International’s work across Asia Pacific, implementing strategies and developing partnerships for people and nature.
In Konservasi Indonesia, she leads a diverse team across 11 offices and manages deep engagement with Indigenous and local communities, government partners and other stakeholders. Through her leadership, Konservasi Indonesia is delivering bold initiatives that protect globally important ecosystems while advancing and securing livelihoods for local communities and supporting economic development for Indonesia.
This includes the Blue Halo S initiative — a unique model and paradigm shift in the financing of protection, conservation and management of ocean natural capital that maximizes nature-based climate change mitigation benefits for vulnerable populations. Designed to fund itself over time, the initiative will initially raise over $300 million in blended finance towards a blue economy.
Being raised in Indonesia, home to over 270 million people, some of the most significant tropical forests, mangroves, peatlands and biodiverse waters globally amidst exponential economic growth and socio-political transformation has shaped Meizani Irmadhiany’s views, passion and dedication to conservation and sustainable development.
With over 18 years of experience in conservation, sustainable land management, agriculture, renewable energy, labour and disaster relief, Irmadhiany was instrumental in establishing a sustainable natural rubber production business. Serving on the board of directors, she helped develop high-level corporate finance instruments, including the company’s first Sustainability Bond issuance in Asia and public grant schemes for environmental and social programs for the company.
Ben Lepley is a licensed architect residing in rural Bisbee, Arizona. He graduated from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 2007. His first job after graduating was in India for Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai Architects immersed in the rich sustainable design-build culture there. After this he went on to China working for Ma Yansong of MAD architects where he became project architect for a large high-rise project in Nanjing, a project that incorporated nature into the towers. The extreme differences of design strategies and industry between India and China was a matter of building diverse experience within the profession. In 2012, Beijing was going through a smog-caused public health crisis in which the U.S. Embassy had a standoff with the Chinese government. This experience radicalized Lepley’s approach as a designer in strategizing how to better ameliorate human’s impact on the earth.
Lepley moved to teach architecture at the University of Arizona for five years. Frustrated with the limited role as faculty and lack of impact as an architect designing one building at a time, he joined up with friend Jordan Kanter to envision how parametric and AI can be used in adaptive-reuse design. In 2015, Lepley decided to study covering and powering canals with PV using parametric design. In 2019, Tectonicus received an SBIR grant to develop and commercialize the idea. Tectonicus is now working with George Cairo Engineers on several canal-solar projects throughout the state which may likely become the first to be built in the Americas.
