Justina Lai

With more than 20 years of experience in the investment industry, over 15 years of which has focused on impact investing, Lai is a recognized leader and frequent speaker in the industry. Most recently, she was Chief Impact Officer at Wetherby Asset Management, which she joined in 2015, continuing in that role as the firm merged with Laird Norton Wealth Management to create LNW.

Previously, Lai led the development and implementation of global impact investment strategies across private markets at Sonen Capital and the Rockefeller Foundation, where she also helped shape the foundation’s grantmaking strategy to build the impact investing field. Lai has also held positions with Legacy Venture, a venture capital fund-of-funds, and Rwanda Ventures, a business incubator launching and operating sustainable agricultural companies in Rwanda. Before her career in impact investing, she worked across the U.S. and Europe in investment banking with Citigroup and private equity with Vestar Capital Partners.

Lai received an MBA with certificates in Public and Global Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a BS in Finance and International Business, summa cum laude, from New York University. Outside of LNW, Lai is a Trustee, PRI Committee Chair, Investment Committee Member and Audit Committee Member for the San Francisco Foundation, one of the nation’s largest community foundations. She also serves on the Board and Chairs the Investment Committee for ICA, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) investing in high potential businesses to close the racial and gender wealth gaps.