Sustainable Design

Diane Kaldany is the co-founder of The CSG Group. After obtaining her B.A. in Philosophy from Fordham University, Diane embarked on professional self-discovery via the real estate, banking, and insurance sectors as a business development executive. She was compelled to make a difference, joining nonprofit boards; curating art shows; and organizing discussions on a variety of topics, such as economic inequality, women and children’s issues, and education. During her tenure as the U.S. Development Director of a Lebanese NGO, Diane came to understand the challenges of grassroots organizations and the communities they serve.

In 2018, Diane realized that systemic change takes time and commitment and that enterprises have the capital and resources to make an impactful difference, especially through private-public partnerships. To that end, she co-founded The CSG Group with the mission to encourage and help enterprises lead through purpose and values by incorporating more transparent social and sustainable business practices into their operations.

Erik Simanis is an authority on new venture creation, having led or guided over a dozen corporate ventures and startups across five continents over the past 25 years. His frameworks and insights are published in leading journals, including the Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Sloan Management Review, and the journal Innovations.

Dr. Simanis holds a Ph.D. in Management from Cornell University; an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received the Norman Block Award for highest academic achievement; and a B.A. magna cum laude from Wake Forest University.

Jason Kliwinski focuses on three main areas: green architecture, consulting, and education. As a practicing architect, Mr. Kliwinski’s work has involved the restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse/renovation of existing buildings as well as the creation of many new environmentally responsible and healthy projects for the last 20 years. His firm, Designs for Life, approaches projects practically and holistically, focusing on incorporating sustainability to the fullest extent possible, on time and within budget. Work includes corporate, commercial, educational, hospitality, municipal, residential, and retail clients.

As a consultant, Mr. Kliwinski has assisted clients across multiple markets in achieving LEED™ and WELL™ Building certifications on dozens of projects as well as net zero carbon, energy, and waste and water plans impacting over 10 million square feet and tens of thousands of occupants. His collaborative, the Green Building Center, provides a convenient one-stop suite of sustainability services to owners, design professional, and developer teams, making green building easy, cost effective, and smart.

Mr. Kliwinski is also a passionate educator. He is LEED Faculty, a Climate Reality Leader, an Energy Code instructor, a guest lecturer at various universities, and a GPro Instructor. He has developed and teaches many sustainability courses at the university and professional development levels on a range of green topics in addition to speaking nationally and internationally at various conferences.

Monica Touesnard is the Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University. She is responsible for conceptualizing, designing, launching, and championing new programmatic enhancements for the Center as well as managing and cultivating existing ones.

As Executive Director, Monica fills numerous roles, including the execution of the Center’s communications strategy and career coaching, advising current and prospective Cornell students interested in careers at the intersection of business, environmental, and social issues. She also fosters and maintains collaborative relationships domestically and internationally with companies, nonprofits, alumni, entrepreneurs, executives, academic institutions, and others. Monica manages projects with various organizations, including companies and NGOs, focused on enterprise development in low-income communities.

Prior to her current position, Monica was the founding Executive Director for the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. She has additional experience in project management, speaking, and consulting, both locally and internationally. Monica is
regularly invited to review social entrepreneurship proposals such as Echoing Green’s Fellowship Program or sustainability grants such as the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future’s Academic Venture Fund.

Monica earned her MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School with focus on Sustainable Enterprise and has a B.A. from McGill University in Canada.

Moya Connelly is the founder and managing partner of Surmont Capital, a firm specializing in the development and management of sustainable finance funds. Her specialty is developing investment strategies to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. Ms. Connelly has built and managed successful sustainable solutions in several organizations, including most recently at Deutsche Bank/DWS.

Ms. Connelly was one of the founders of MicroVest. She has served as the chief financial officer of a capital management company, an investment officer (lending and equity), and a member of the board of various microfinance organizations (MFIs and NGOs). Most recently, Ms. Connelly has worked to develop several funds in climate finance and as a professor at the University of Virginia teaching an ESG and Impact Investing course. She has an MBA from the University of Virginia (USA) and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Smith College (USA).

Rene Bonomi pursued his MBA at Cornell University and has a degree in Industrial Engineering from UFSCar in Brazil. He brings years of experience both in business development, for startups as well as corporations, and in financial advisory, structuring M&A and capital-raising transactions. Rene has international business experience working in Latin America, United States, and Europe. His industry expertise includes industrials, renewable energy, healthcare, biotechnology, agriculture, food production, and social and environmental impact.

Rene is passionate about environmental finance and impact investing, venture capital, and startup acceleration. He has a consulting business focused on supporting entrepreneurs, startups, and corporations on financial strategy, business modeling, and business strategy in the fields of social and environmental impact. Rene’s business has a collaboration partnership with The CSG Group to work on these projects globally. He also collaborates with Idea Lunchbox, an U.S. accelerator that internationalizes and expands deep tech startups to the U.S. market.

Supriya Verma, WELL AP, is an award-winning corporate executive, citizen journalist, global sustainability advocate, and social entrepreneur. She is the Chief Sustainability Officer of Belnor Engineering Inc., an award-winning global construction firm in Toronto, Canada, focusing on sustainable architectural products, services, and solutions for the green building industry and specializing in IAQ, HVAC, critical airflow management, healthcare design, and smart and renewable energy building technologies.

Ms. Verma is also the founder of The SustainabilityX® Magazine, bringing the environment and economy together for a sustainable future through dialogue since 2016. She has written and published various thought-provoking pieces on sustainability featuring international executive leaders in business, design, politics, and science. Ms. Verma has spoken at multiple international events like UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference and has served as a board member at Fojo Media Institute’s Sustainable Journalism Partnership at Linnaeus University in Sweden. She has also served as a member of the International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) WELL Faculty and been named as an Advisor on IWBI’s high-level Investing For Health Advisory to elevate the meaning of health, well-being, and equity across organizations, communities, and capital markets globally.

In 2019, Ms. Verma was recognized internationally as one of Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 in Sustainability Leadership and was awarded McMaster University’s prestigious Alumni Arch Award in 2021 for unique and significant contributions to society. In 2022, she was recognized globally by The SustainabilityX® Magazine’s inaugural Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™, celebrating the powerful work of women in sustainability leadership around the world. Ms. Verma has also been honored as one of The Peak’s Emerging Leaders 2024, celebrating up-and-coming young leaders under 40 shaping Canada’s economy, culture, and society.