Our Co-Founders
Janine Firpo
Co-Founder
Janine Firpo is a values-aligned investor, angel investor, and social innovator. In 2017 she left her 35-year career in technology and international development to focus on how women can create a more just and equitable society through their financial investments. In 2018 Janine launched a club to help women invest all their assets – from cash to public equities to private investments – in ways that align with their values. She is the author of Activate Your Money.
LATEST NEWS
- “The PowHer of Money Series” With Sabine Gedeon Featuring Janine Firpo
- Janine Firpo Joins ASBN For ‘The Anti-ESG Movement: Combating the Attack on Business & Impact Investing’ Event
- Janine Firpo Featured On ‘Wellspoken’ Podcast with Dr. DelRae Messer
- Janine Firpo featured on “Making Change With Your Money” Podcast Discussing Creating a Just Society Through Financial Investment
Ellen Remmer
Co-Founder
Ellen Remmer is Co-Founder of Invest for Better and a champion for impact investing, philanthropy and social change. She launched Invest for Better with Co-Founder Janine Firpo in 2021, after incubating it at The Philanthropic Initiative, where she is a Senior Partner and served as President & CEO from 2006-2011. Ellen is also the President of the Remmer Family Foundation, on the Board of Prosperity Catalyst and the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and a member of the Oxfam Leadership Council.
LATEST NEWS:
Staff & Steering Committee
Emily Fan
General Counsel
The Packard Foundation
About Emily
Emily Fan serves as Deputy General Counsel to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation where she supports the mission investing program. Emily has spent her career in the social impact space, advising organizations focused on global poverty alleviation. She also serves on the board for EverFree which supports women to achieve economic security and freedom and volunteers with a local gardening group.
Gillian Marcelle, PhD
CEO and Founder
Resilience Capital Ventures
About Gillian
Gillian Marcelle, PhD leads Resilience Capital Ventures LLC, a boutique capital advisory practice specializing in blended finance. She has a proven track record in attracting investment and focuses on telecoms, fintech, renewable energy and regenerative agriculture. Her specialty is the design and implementation of blended finance strategies that often involve partnerships, ecosystem strengthening and designing architectures for transformational change. Dr Marcelle developed the Triple B Framework to improve flows and allocation of capital in its multiple forms; this provides a platform for engaging in the finance and investment world, where her contributions and perspectives on diversity, inclusion, accountability and alignment with the SDGs are becoming influential. Her international public service includes appointments with the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, Global Future Council on SynBio.
Jasmine Tanguay
Program Director
Invest for Better
About Jasmine
Jasmine joined Invest for Better in early 2020 and currently serves as Program Manager. She has led pioneering initiatives at nonprofits and social enterprises for more than 20 years. Previously she was Managing Director at CLF Ventures, innovating at the intersection of markets, communities and the environment. She has a passion for engaging individuals, families, and organizations to align their present impact and future legacy with their core values. Jasmine believes that through values-aligned decisions at all stages of life, women can lead the way toward a vibrant future for our loved ones, our communities, and our planet.
Jennifer Oertel
Expert in Residence
Council of Michigan Foundations
About Jennifer
Jennifer Oertel provides strategic business advice and practical legal guidance to a broad range of clients, from social enterprises and tax-exempt organizations to donors and impact investors. Leveraging her background in corporate and securities law, nonprofit management, and social work, she offers a unique perspective to her clients. A recognized authority on tax-exempt organizations law, Jennifer is the Co-Chair of the Nonprofit Corporations Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan which reviews and updates the state law that governs nonprofit corporations. She is also the first-ever Expert in Residence for Impact Investing for the Council of Michigan Foundations, working to further build and support Michigan’s impact investing ecosystem. Jennifer is frequently asked to write articles and to speak on impact investing and philanthropy, as well as to judge social enterprise business plan competitions. She is the mother of 4 children and serves on the boards of several philanthropic organizations in her personal time.
Jill Bamburg
Education Advisor
Invest for Better
About Jill
Jill Bamburg was one of the co-founders of Bainbridge Graduate Institute/Pinchot University (now Presidio Graduate School), the first school to offer an MBA in Sustainable Business. Prior to that, she worked in adult education (Antioch University/Seattle), high-tech marketing (Aldus Corporation), and community and environmental journalism (High Country News, Jackson Hole News, and Guide). She is the author of Getting to Scale: Growing Your Business without Selling Out. In addition to advising IFB on curriculum, she is the moderator for the Seattle Impact Investing Group.
Kathleen McQuiggan
Women & Wealth Advisor
Artemis Financial Advisors
About Kathleen
Kathleen McQuiggan is a passionate invest in women advocate and Partner at Artemis Financial Advisors. For over three decades, she has worked in Financial Services industry advising investors and helping clients at Goldman Sachs, Pax World Management, Alex. Brown, and her own consulting practice, Catalina Leadership. Kathleen currently serves as Vice-Chair and Fund Development Chair for Forte Foundation and is also co-chair of Women Working for Oceans. She also serves on the investment committee of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the investment advisory council of The Association for the Relief of Aged Women of New Bedford, and the advisory council of Invest For Better.
Leslie Lee
VP of Brand & Customer Engagement
Atlassian
About Leslie
Leslie is the VP of Brand & Customer Engagement at Atlassian, leading a team of 65+ across Global Events & Field Marketing, Community, Brand, Creative and Editorial. Leslie has 20+ years of B2B and B2C marketing experience in Enterprise Software and Financial Services, with experience at early stage start-ups through IPO and then at scale with several thousand employees.
Melanie Audette
Senior Vice President
Mission Investors Exchange
About Melanie
Melanie Audette is the Senior Vice President at Mission Investors Exchange, a national membership network for foundations building and growing their impact investing programs. She works with members to identify and drive additional resources towards innovative impact investing opportunities, facilitates partnerships across the sector, and represents the impact investing network. Melanie began her career as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service and subsequently managed family offices and a private foundation. She has deep experience in the nonprofit sector, having been in leadership roles in four membership associations and nine nonprofit organizations. She is based in Seattle, WA.
Phillip Wm. Fisher
Founder
Mission Throttle
About Phillip
Founder of Mission Throttle, Phillip Wm. Fisher is leading culture change to accelerate the evolution of philanthropy through innovation. As a capitalist and philanthropist, he is leading sustainable strategies to connect, collaborate and deploy effective market-driven solutions to accelerate social capital, human resources, and community impact.
Phillip serves as Board Chairman of The Fisher Group, Board and Executive Committee member for the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, board member of Starfish Family Services, and Steering Committee member of Invest for Better amongst others. He is Chair Emeritus of the Fisher Foundation and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Sonali Kothari
CEO
Kothari Leadership Enterprise
About Sonali
Sonali is the Chief Engagement Officer of Kothari Leadership Enterprises Inc,. an executive advisory firm that partners with leaders and companies to grow through their EQ+Execution™ approach. Sonali was COO of JFFLabs, a nonprofit innovation lab for education and workforce, growing it to a budget of $5.5 M and 14 FTE with 5 business lines including corporate advising, startup acceleration and investment. She spent 7 years with Kiva.org, including as COO & CPO as the online crowdfunding platform hit $1 Billion in loans worldwide during her tenure. Her cross-sector technology experience includes Say Media, Google, Accenture, Americorps and Autobytel combined with 10 years and Board Chair with the Mental Health Association of San Francisco. Sonali’s favorite colors are UC Berkeley’s Blue and Gold, and she completed her MBA at UCLA Anderson.
Vanessa Lowe
President
VLL Consulting and Financial Education
About Vanessa
Vanessa Lowe is an economic development professional and advocate with a mission is to learn, teach, and have a positive impact. An experienced national and international public speaker and financial education trainer, she uses her expertise in finance to open doors and expand opportunities for people and communities challenged by money and in need of financial resources.
Armed with an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, Vanessa spent 20 years in financial regulation, first with U.S. Treasury, then with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). At NCUA she led the agency’s work in online learning, producing training videos and webinars for the U.S. based credit union community.