Each year a team of student Principals manages the Haas Sustainable Investment Fund, learning through experience about SRI and ESG investment strategies and practices.
Andrew Filipek
Andrew is a second year student in the Full-Time MBA program who is interested in sustainable food systems, vibrant urban spaces and transportation, and the allocation of institutional asset portfolios for environmental and social impact. During his time at Haas, Andrew has served on the Sustainable and Impact Finance Initiative’s Student Advisory Board and on the leadership teams of the Net Impact and [email protected] clubs. Andrew has a professional background in financial services consulting and investments and treasury at a large non-profit organization, and he plans to pursue a career in impact investing or sustainable finance after graduation.
Daniel Handal
Daniel Handal is an MIT engineer and Berkeley Haas part-time MBA student with 12+ years of experience in renewable energy, Smart Grid, and energy efficiency for utilities, real estate entities, manufacturers, financial firms, and startups. Today, at NextEra, he develops utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage projects in California, Oregon, Washington, and Montana. Further, as a strategy consultant at Navigant and as an entrepreneur at Waypoint, he led multi-disciplinary engagements promoting environmentally sustainable practices and cutting-edge energy innovations to commercial operation.
Petra Nelson
Petra Nelson is a full-time MBA student at Haas, graduating in May 2023. Prior to Haas, Petra pursued a career in nonprofit fundraising, working for several nonprofits headquartered in New York City. Between 2015 and 2021, she raised over $17M for various organizations and initiatives, working with mainly Corporate and Foundation partners. She is interested in pivoting into Fintech and spent her summer interning at PayPal. She chose Haas because Social Impact is embedded into its culture and academics, which was a top priority for her when considering business schools.
Ryan Tan
Ryan Tan is a 2nd Year MBA student at the University of California, Haas School of Business. He serves as President of the Haas Investment Club, the Asia Business Club, and the Haas Christian Fellowship. Ryan also serves as a member of the Dean Speaker Series Student Board, a student interviewer for the full-time MBA program, and a mentor for the Cal Athletics Mentorship Program (CAMP). Ryan has taught Econ 136 – Financial Economics to undergraduates for three semesters as a Graduate Student Instructor. Prior to Haas, Ryan was a Not-for-Profit Healthcare Investment Banker for five years at Wells Fargo Securities in New York City. He also founded Arrow Markets, an impact investing FinTech platform that allows retail investors to directly invest in municipal bonds in the primary market. This past summer, Ryan worked as a High-Yield Corporate Credit Research Analyst at Franklin Templeton, where he covered Wireline Telecom.
Stephen McCarthy
Stephen believes strongly that sustainability needs to be considered in the financial decision-making process. He finds it imperative to understand the risks and opportunities of a changing world, and how they can impact the economy and investment activity. Stephen draws from his strong institutional experience to offer guidance for affluent individuals, family offices, private equity partners, asset managers and sophisticated investors. He couples the strength of my banking and lending background with the specialist resources of the firm to help unlock value across the financial landscape—portfolio construction, manager selection, investment options, partner loans, cash management, estate planning and more.
Grant Ligon
Grant is a Sustainability Analyst focused on driving ESG improvements (particularly in CO2e emissions), with increasing emphasis on understanding and investing in businesses built for the coming drawdown-driven economy.
Lizi Feng
Lizi is a change management consultant in the energy industry, partnering with Fortune companies on their digital and cultural transformations. Outside of her work, she is currently an investment intern at Vectors Capital focusing on sourcing promising startups that address global climate challenges.
Stephan Avorkliya
Stephan is a 3rd year EWMBA student. Currently works in technical sales in the automotive industry. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. He's new to the investing world, excited to enter from the sustainability side.
Julian Ramirez
Julian is a 2nd year in the FTMBA program at Berkeley Haas. Prior to business school, Julian spent his career as a school teacher in a low-income school district in the Bay Area. Julian is passionate about promoting racial and gender equity through impact investing and financial inclusion initiatives.
Tongai David Makoni
Tongai David Makoni is a full-time MBA student at the Haas School of Business pursuing a specialization in social impact and finance. Before Haas, Tongai worked as a research analyst at the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Education, focusing on finance and strategy. At Haas, Tongai serves on the Berkeley Hillel Student Board and has worked with USAP Investment Fund, a boutique impact fund working with underserved entrepreneurs in southern Africa.