HIGH WATER WOMEN
Accelerating Impact Committee
In 2014, High Water Women created a special, all volunteer, committee to work closely with our Board of Directors and staff to curate, plan and execute an annual Symposium on Impact Investing. This event has established HWW as a thought leader and educator in the Impact Investing space.
Drianne Benner
Impact Committee, Co-Chair
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Drianne Benner
Managing Director, Appomattox — Joined in 2010. She has over 30 years’ experience in investment management. She is responsible for business development and client service.Previously, she was Global Marketing Director at Cadogan Management where she was responsible for overseeing firm-wide marketing and client communications for institutional and family office clients.Prior to joining Cadogan, she spent ten years, most recently as a Managing Director, at U.S. Trust Company, where she developed and led client and marketing initiatives focused on investment communications, initiated an institutional consultant relations program and serviced large institutional clients. Before that she worked at Paribas Asset Management, a global asset management firm, in a variety of roles including institutional and consultant relations to some of the largest U.S. pension funds and as a manager of portfolios in an enhanced quantitative strategy. She earned a BA from Pennsylvania State University and attended graduate studies in regional planning in international development at Cornell University. Drianne is a CFA charter holder and is a former board member of the CFA Society New York. Drianne is on the board and Finance/Investment Committee of the New York City Audubon Society; chairs the Investment Committee of the American Friends Service Committee and is on the Finance/Investment Committee of the Oysterponds Historical Society.
Imogen Rose-Smith
Impact Committee, Co-Chair
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Imogen Rose-Smith
Journalist — An award winning journalist, Imogen Rose-Smith is an expert on institutional investment and sustainable asset management. She is a contributing editor to Impact Alpha, the leading publication on impact investing, and is a regular commentator on the popular Impact Alpha podcast, Returns on Investment.
Imogen was a 2017 to 2019 investment fellow at the University of California in the Office of the Chief Investment Officer to the University of California Regents. She helped design, implement and oversee the $120 billion asset owner’s award winning sustainable investment strategy. Prior to joining the UC, Imogen was a Senior Writer with Institutional Investor Magazine, where she founded and lead the publications award winning sustainable investment coverage.
From 2012 to 2015 Imogen served as an advisor to the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights foundation on their program concerning institutional asset owners, ESG and human rights. In 2015, Imogen was part of a delegation that worked successfully with the Obama White House and the Department of Labor to achieve changes to the DOL’s guidance for corporate and union pension plans concerning the consideration of ESG factors (the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance) in investment decision making.
Imogen has a BA in American Studies from the University of East Anglia, including a year abroad at UC Berkeley, and an MA in American Studies from Columbia University. She serves on the advisory committee of Girls Who Invest, a not-for-profit focused on increasing the pipeline of women investment professionals, and is a trustee of ALTSO UK, a not-for-profit which helps disabled children in developing market countries. She is the co-founder of Combinate Capital, a diversity focused venture capital initiative, and a principal of and impact investment advisor to Gravity Exists, an impact investment and advisory business. She lives in Brooklyn and Orient, NY with her husband.
Caroline Abramo
Impact Committee
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Caroline Abramo
Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Pana LCE, Impact Committee, High Water Women – Caroline Abramo founded Pana LCE in 2019 to meet the demand for sustainable climate investments that offer competitive returns. Her work in commodities and infrastructure investing spans 27 years at several premier institutions including Lazard Asset Management, Enron, Carlule Group, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Kimura Capital, and Pana Advisory. She has significant Private Equity growth experience through arranged financing and IPO's for the earliest "green companies" with average IRR's of 35% and MOIC's of 5x. Caroline has also advised on and taken GP ownership stakes in several green companies and platforms through Pana Advisory. These have not been exited yet but have current MOIC's of 6x. Caroline was most recently Co PM for the Lazard Real Assets Fund (BBG ticker RALIX) and made growth investments into Infrastructure, Real Estate, and Commodity companies. This portfolio has a three year+ track record and has anticipated exits with MOIC's of 2x. Caroline was also co PM of the Lazard Commodity Fund (BBG ticker COMDO) with Pana LCE team member Eduardo Gonzalez. Caroline holds a Bachelor of Science and Arts in Management from Bucknell University.
Catherine Banat
Impact Committee
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Catherine Banat
Managing Director, US Responsible Investing — Catherine Banat oversees the Responsible Investing Platform for RBC GAM-US. As an ambassador for the value proposition associated with Responsible Investing and the strategic approach of RBC, she champions ESG and Impact Investing with clients and prospects. Catherine is a keen advocate of responsible investing within the broader investment community as a resource to asset owners and advisors seeking to expand their understanding of ESG integration and impact investing. She serves as a thought leader and relevant voice advocating for combining a competitive financial return with a sustainable investing lens.
Prior to joining RBC GAM, Catherine managed strategic initiatives, risk and compliance for The New York City Retirement Systems, then an over $150 billion public pension plan, where she also researched, developed and implemented the strategic plan for the Economically Targeted Investment (ETI) program. Catherine has dedicated her entire career to the financial services industry and has held senior level positions at Paloma Partners, Goldman, Sachs & Co., C3 Capital and Lehman Brothers. Catherine has more than 20 years’ experience in the investment industry. She earned a BA in history and a BSE in management from the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School, as well as an MBA in finance from Columbia University. Catherine holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Ariane de Vienne
Board Officer, President
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Ariane de Vienne
Global Head of Asset Owner Strategy, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Board President, High Water Women — Ariane de Vienne is Global Head of Asset Owner Strategy at Institutional Shareholder Services. She is leading a global mandate to deepen ISS’ relationships with asset owners and consultants across ISS. Before that, Ariane was Head of ESG Strategy Americas, and part of the leadership team establishing ISS ESG as the leader and gold-standard in the responsible investment industry. Ariane joined ISS via oekom research in May of 2016. Having begun her banking career in Germany, Ariane gained extensive experience with her own impact and ESG consulting businesses in Hong Kong and New York.
Prior to that she was Managing Director at Guggenheim Investment Advisors LLC and served as Senior Vice President at David J. Greene and Company as well as in several Managing Director roles at JPMorgan Chase, leading multi-disciplinary teams. Ariane serves on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations focusing on social impact as well as ecological issues, including the US Board of The Climate Group. She is also an Ambassador to TBLI, a Dutch-based organization dedicated to raising awareness about the benefits and opportunities of ESG and impact investing.
Hannah Fischman
Impact Committee
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Hannah Fischman
Senior Associate, AllianceBernstein; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Hannah Fischman is a Senior Associate in the New York office of AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm. In this role, Hannah partners with senior financial advisors to manage their client relationships and create specialized investment planning strategies. Outside of her role, Hannah most recently worked with Cristo Rey charter school on their corporate partnership with AllianceBernstein, where she managed the academic internship program. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Barnard College in New York City. She is excited to join High Water Women to contribute to, and help drive the organization's mission.
Melanie Fornes
Impact Committee
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Melanie Fornes
Business Development Associate, Arabesque Asset Management; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Melanie Fornes is a Business Development Associate at Arabesque Asset Management in Boston, MA. With prior experience in carbon finance and environmental policy making, Melanie is passionate about sustainability and change making in the financial industry. In her role, she focuses on incorporating ESG practices within the firm’s development and growth in the United States. Melanie holds two bachelor of arts degrees in Environmental Studies and Economics from the University of California (UCSC), and holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She is excited to join High Water Women to help drive the organization’s mission and programming.
Darcy Garner
Board Member
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Darcy Garner
Managing Partner, Channel Family Assets, Board Member, High Water Women — Ms. Garner has over 20 years leadership experience in the investment management industry, and serves as an advisor to entrepreneurial individuals and families. She started her firm, Channel Family Assets in 2011 and works with high net worth families around their investments, estate planning, and family education. From 2002-2011, Ms. Garner was a founding Partner of HighmountCapital, a $2.5 billion dollar wealth management firm with offices in New York, Boston, Amsterdam and Zurich. While at Highmount, Ms. Garner was directly involved in having her firm achieve a number of awards, including the PAM Awards as the best multi-family office in 2011. She was responsible for the firm’s internal investment capabilities and led the investment portfolios and staff. During her tenure, she was responsible for the firm’s marketing and branding. While at Highmount, Ms. Garner was responsible for developing governance and financial education programs for families.Ms. Garner received her BS from Tulane University in New Orleans and her MBA from Thunderbird, The Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. Ms. Garner has served on a variety of non-for-profit boards including K.I.D.S. and was a founding and advisory member of The Redwoods Initiative. She has been a member of the Women’s Presidents Organization (WPO), Financial Women’s Association (FWA), New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA), The CFA Institute, Financial Planning Associations (FPA), and STEP. She holds a series 65, and has her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She has been a member of Golden Seeds, a women’s angel investing group and on the Board of Springboard Enterprises, a venture catalyst for emerging growth ventures led by women. She recently co-founded The Foundation for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and served as the Chief Financial Officer.
Alex Higbee
Impact Committee
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Alex Higbee
Associate, Private Bank Digital Marketing, JP Morgan Private Bank; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Alex Higbee is an Associate on the Private Bank Digital Marketing team at J.P. Morgan. The Private Bank is part of J.P. Morgan Chase and specifically helps individuals, families, foundations, and endowments grow and manage their wealth through personalized, comprehensive financial solutions. Alex is responsible for helping bankers acquire new clients and deepen existing client relationships through digital content and experiences. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Alex was an Assistant Vice President at Morgan Stanley and worked on investment product marketing in wealth management. She started her career at Cambridge Associates in investment operations. Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Bucknell University and is currently completing her MBA at Columbia University, as part of their Executive Program. She is a Series 7 license holder and in her free time she teaches yoga and sails recreationally as well as competitively. She is excited to join High Water Women’s Young Women’s Council and to contribute meaningfully to the organization’s mission.
Caroline Lovelace
Impact Committee
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Caroline Lovelace
Founder and Managing Partner, Rose Hill Park — Caroline Lovelace, Founder and Managing Partner of Rose Hill Park, has nearly 20 years’ experience in financial services and 15 years’ experience in alternative investments including direct venture capital, private equity (direct and co-mingled funds) and hedge funds (comingled funds). Previous to Rose Hill Park, Ms. Lovelace was a founding partner of Pine Street Alternative Asset Management and Co-Portfolio Manager for its seed fund for emerging hedge funds with a focus on woman and minority-owned managers. Ms. Lovelace was also a key element in the successful fundraise of a $200MM seed allocation from a large state pension plan.
Before Pine Street, Ms. Lovelace was a managing director of Provident Group Asset Management where she was responsible for hedge fund research, new manager selection and oversight of the due diligence process. In addition, Ms. Lovelace worked with Hedge Fund Research Inc. to conduct the first comprehensive survey of the woman and minority-owned hedge fund universe.
Previously, Ms. Lovelace spent several years with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in New York, first in investment banking then moving to J.P. Morgan Capital, the firm’s direct private equity division, to invest in and manage a portfolio of healthcare and financial services investments. She served on the board of Directors/Advisors for several private companies.
Ms. Lovelace holds a BA (Economics) from Harvard University and an MBA (Finance) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Patience Marime-Ball
Impact Committee
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Patience Marime-Ball
Founder and CEO, Women of the World Endowment — Patience Marime-Ball is the Founder and CEO of Women of the World Endowment. She is an investor in early and growth stage gender diverse/led companies. Patience was previously Global Head of Banking on Women and Principal Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation working on investments in infrastructure, non-performing assets, and into commercial banks, debt and equity funds.
In 2010, Patience developed the Banking on Women investment platform to drive access to capital for women entrepreneurs. Patience co-led the issuance of the first gender bond on the Uridashi market and led the structuring, with Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women, of a global $600M debt fund to invest in women entrepreneurs. Patience was VP Project Finance at Mizuho Bank in New York City.
Patience is the Board Vice Chair at the International Center for Research on Women, she serves on the Advisory Boards of two companies, including Emerging Sun LLC, a company she co-founded 2005. She has an MBA from Kellogg Business School and a Juris Doctor from the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University.
Ana Murias
Impact Committee
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Ana Murias
Analyst, Corporate M&A, J.P. Morgan; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Ana Murias is an Analyst on the Corporate M&A team at J.P. Morgan, and is based in the New York office. In this role, Ana is responsible for evaluating new acquisition opportunities and performing financial analyses to support firm-wide strategic initiatives. Ana holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the College of William & Mary. She is excited to join High Water Women’s Young Women’s Council and to help drive the organization’s mission.
Amie Patel
Impact Committee
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Amie Patel
Director, Elevar Equity — Amie Patel is a Director with ElevarEquity and manages and cultivates Elevar’sglobal partnerships including LP and co-investor relationships. Amie was previously a Vice President with Goldman Sachs Asset Management which she joined through the acquisition of Imprint Capital. Amie focused on the firm’s ESG and Impact Investing capabilities within the emerging markets. Prior to Imprint, she was with the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) where she concentrated her efforts on early to growth stage investments. She managed SEDF's investments in Haiti and worked on several other investment opportunities in Palestine, India and parts of Africa. Amie also was with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as a Presidential Management Fellow in the Investment Funds department responsible for developing and evaluating top-quartile and first-time emerging market private equity fund managers. Amie began her career as an M&A analyst with Merrill Lynch and First Union Securities. She also volunteered in Nepal with Students Partnership Worldwide as a Program Manager working on environmental education and women’s issues. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a BS in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis, MO undergraduate degree in Economics from Smith College.
Shannon Rooney
Impact Committee
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Shannon Rooney
Senior Associate, Capital One Bank; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Shannon Rooney is a Senior Associate at Capital One Bank, working in the Capital Markets Analytics group. Shannon acts as an internal consultant for finance leadership on topics related to Treasury and Balance Sheet Management, based on research and analysis on other financial institutions and the competitive landscape. Prior to her current role, she was in Capital One's two year financial rotational program, rotating throughout different areas of the company. Shannon earned her B.S. in Business with a concentration in Finance and a minor in International Business from Virginia Tech. She started volunteering at HWW as a member of the Impact Committee and is excited to expand her involvement to the Young Women's Council.
Lindsay Seeger
Impact Committee
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Lindsay Seeger
Director of Project Development, i(x) investments — Lindsay Seeger is Director of Project Development at i(x) investments, an impact investing firm, developing investment platforms for the firm and its shareholders across real estate and early stage venture and growing opportunities for the firm's broker dealer. She has experience in business development, project management and operations.
Previously, she was Director of Business Development at ARK Development/Racebrook Capital, a real estate development company and family office, managing a cargo re-development and infrastructure project at JFK International Airport. She worked with the company principals, focusing on corporate business development and marketing, pre- and post-operational strategy and property management, interacting with multiple stakeholders and managing relationships and agreements with tenants, non-governmental and governmental agencies, airlines and B2B/B2C customers.
Her prior experience includes developing major gift and annual fund fundraising strategies for New York University and event management and fundraising at the Museum of American Finance, a Smithsonian affiliate.
Lindsay graduated with a BA from Gettysburg College, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and received her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Kim Leslie Shafer
Impact Committee
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Kim Leslie Shafer
Board Chair, Aeris — Board Chair of Aeris, a social enterprise that accelerates the flow of capital to good by driving accountability and transparency into impact investing. She also works as an expert witness in litigation, consults in financial services and fin-tech and serves on the Advisory Committee of a credit hedge fund. She was a Senior Managing Director in Strategic Finance at Bear Stearns until its 2008 merger, working with alternative asset managers and various structured fixed income products. Subsequently, she assisted the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in DC create its (bestselling) report and archives. In earlier professional chapters, Kim was a public finance investment banker, served as Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Banking Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee, worked on the national staffs of two Presidential campaigns and practiced corporate law at White & Case. Her policy work in Washington engendered a lifelong interest in the beneficial power of finance and the challenge of effective regulation. Having recently joined the board of Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life, Kim’s prior board service includes the Council for Economic Education, Financial Women’s Association, Women in Housing & Finance (DC) and the Alumni Association of each of her alma maters. Kim has a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University. Post-graduate she was awarded a Corning World Travel Fellowship to explore foreign private investment and economic development issues in Asia and Africa. She resides with her husband in New York City and they have two college-age children.
Simran Singh
Impact Committee
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Simran Singh
Global Graduate Program Analyst, Allianz Global Investors; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Simran (Simi) Singh is a Global Graduate Program Analyst in the New York office of Allianz Global Investors, one of the world's leading active investment managers. In this role, Simi has primarily supported the U.S. Infrastructure Debt and Renewables Infrastructure Equity investing teams. Additionally, she has conducted strategic analysis to support new product development and distribution decisions in the illiquid alternatives space. Simi earned her B.S. in Business Administration, cum laude, from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California with additional coursework in international relations and policy. She is passionate about High Water Women's mission and is excited to contribute to the organization.
Anna K. Snider
Board Officer, Chair
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Anna Snider
Managing Director, Head of Due Diligence, Bank of America, Board Chair, High Water Women — Anna Snider is Managing Director and Head of Due Diligence for the Chief Investment Office within Global Wealth & Investment Management, Bank of America. In this role, Anna is responsible for manager research across all asset classes for the wealth management businesses. She also defines and executes investment strategies focusing on impact strategy research, thought leadership and investment implementation. Prior to this role, Anna was part of the alternative investments group where she advised clients on hedge fund and private assets portfolio construction and became head of research for externally managed alternative investment fund of funds. She was also a senior analyst in the risk management division at U.S. Trust. Anna offers many years of investment and risk analysis experience, having held positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, JP Morgan and UBS focusing on market, credit and operational risk management. Anna graduated from Connecticut College. She holds the Chartered Alternative Investment AnalystSM(CAIASM) designation. Anna serves as chair of the board for High Water Women, a foundation based in New York City.
Shu Dar Yao
Impact Committee
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Shu Dar Yao
ESG and Impact Investing Advisor; Impact Committee, High Water Women — Shu Dar Yao is an ESG and Impact Investing Advisor with an expertise supporting venture, private equity, and wealth managers that seek market-rate returns. Her scope of work has included designing ESG and impact reporting, supporting investor relations teams to respond to ESG inquiries, structuring new financing vehicles, and preparing portfolio companies to meet best practices before being listed publicly.
Shu Dar led investments and she served as Chairman of the Investment Committee of RSF Social Finance, she rewrote the firm’s investment policy statement, impact strategy, and oversaw the restructuring and subsequent portfolio management of its impact-first portfolio. Previously, she has worked across ESG and impact organizations including Social Finance, Citigroup's Inclusive Finance team and the World Bank Group's IFC. She was an investment banker at JPMorgan, working in Global M&A, Syndicated Leveraged Finance and Private Equity Sponsors during the subprime crisis.
In addition to her work with High Water Women, she serves as an Investment Committee member of Align Impact, Senior Advisor to Abacus Wealth Partners on ESG and Impact, Advisor to Giving Green and is a board member to MIT’s Impact Investing Club.
Valerie Yuen
Impact Committee
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Valerie Yuen
Senior Associate, Business Development & Strategy, IHS Markit; Young Women's Council, High Water Women – Valerie Yuen is a Senior Associate on the Business Development & Strategy team at IHS Markit, a leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for major industries and markets. She specializes in fixed income cash products and currently serves as a CLO product specialist on the Securitized Products desk. At IHS Markit, she is involved with the NYC Women’s Forum and serves as a junior board member for Opening Act and Covenant House. Valerie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government from Smith. She is excited to continue her work for both High Water Women’s Young Women’s Council and Impact Committee to further the organization’s mission.
Alissa Desmarais
Impact Committee
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Alissa Desmarais
Executive Director, High Water Women — Alissa Desmarais brings over 20 years of leadership experience in nonprofit and human resources management both globally and locally. She has worked with some of the best New York City organizations. Her accomplishments include closing six-figure revenue deals and managing a budget of over $5M at the City Parks Foundation, securing $1.5M in unrestricted gifts for Synergos, and increasing service revenues at Creative Alternatives by 42%. She has successfully organized and managed top tier events working with international figures such as David Rockefeller, Kofi Annan and Queen Rania of Jordan. Under her leadership the New York Public Radio gala grew by 32%. Her honest, practical, can do attitude, coupled with her strategic approach will help us guide HWW into a new phase of growth.