Our Staff
Tucker Wilke supports the Center’s research on economics and sustainable finance. He received a BA in International and Public Affairs on the international development track from Brown University. He wrote his honors thesis investigating the use of green bonds for sustainable projects in Africa. He then received an MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University’s Climate School. He has previously served as an intern for RMI’s U.S. Policy team, a research assistant for Vanderbilt Law School, and an intern for the Rhode Island Center for Justice.
Sara Saloum supports the Center’s research on land, agriculture, and food systems. She holds two bachelor’s degrees through the Dual BA Program between Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University: a BA in Political Humanities from Sciences Po, with a concentration in the Middle East and North African studies, and a BA in Sustainable Development from Columbia. She has previously interned with the Center on CCSI's ALIGN project and worked as a research assistant at the Climate School. She also completed a senior capstone project in collaboration with Humane Society International that focused on biodiversity-friendly coffee certification in India.
Perrine Toledano is a distinguished research expert in climate and sustainability issues affecting resource-rich developing countries. Mission-driven and forward-thinking, she has played a significant part in developing the expertise, resilience, and visibility of CCSI. Through her entrepreneurial drive and ability to read the market, she has helped the Center grow the number of workstreams, conduct pioneering research in new areas, and influence the wider community of practice.
As Director of Research and Policy at CCSI, Perrine oversees the development of a coordinated, integrated, and impactful program of research across CCSI's thematic areas of interest. She also directs the Center’s work on Mining, Energy, and Climate Finance. She leads research, training, and advisory projects on economy-wide decarbonization pathways and the role of key actors in the energy transition. She has led projects in DRC, Liberia, Paraguay, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Timor-Leste, and assisted many more government teams remotely.
She is the co-editor of two volumes published by Columbia University Press: Rethinking Investment Incentives: Trends and Policy Options and The New Frontiers of Sovereign Investment. Among other engagements, she has served on the academic board of the Cambridge 1.5°C-aligned corporate bond index, on the advisory board of the International Senior Lawyers Project's tax program, and she was part of the Panel of Experts advising on the Regional Economic Development strategy of Rio Tinto in Simandou (Guinea).
Before joining CCSI, she worked as a consultant for several non-profit organizations, including the World Bank, DFID, and Revenue Watch Institute (now NRGI), and private sector companies, including Natixis Corporate Investment Bank and Ernst and Young. Her experience includes auditing, financial analysis, IT for capital markets, public policy evaluation, and cross-border project management. She has a Masters of Business Administration from ESSEC in Paris, France, and a Masters of Public Administration from Columbia University.
Paulo Cunha is CCSI's Director of Operations. In this capacity, he directs the Center's financial, administrative and business operations, while contributing to strategic planning, human resources, communications and project management. He joined the Center from the Earth Institute, where he managed a number of projects across several centers and initiatives, including an advisory project in São Tomé and Príncipe that focused on extractive industries transparency, oil revenue management and development planning, and sustainable development projects that focused on bamboo bicycles and solar lanterns. He has over 18 years of experience as a project manager, researcher and operations specialist in the fields of sustainable development and investment, natural resource governance and extractive industries transparency. He has also worked with the Natural Resource Governance Institute and the United Nations Development Program. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a Master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Nancy Siporin is the Executive Coordinator of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. Prior to joining CCSI, she worked in television production, in areas ranging from broadcast operations to publicity, before becoming a casting director and owner of an independent casting company. Previously, she spent numerous years in the advertising industry, where she served as the Manager of Network Television Programming at a large ad agency. Her diverse background also includes working as a Senior Recruiting Manager in the medical market research industry. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Arts and Sciences, with honors, from Queens College, New York.
Martin Dietrich Brauch is a Lead Researcher at CCSI. An experienced international environmental lawyer and economist, he is committed to sustainable development and climate action. Martin leads impactful economic, legal, and policy research, advisory, and training projects across various CCSI focus areas, notably Mining Governance and Critical Minerals, Just Energy Transitions and Fossil Fuel Phaseout, Investment Law & Policy, Circular Economy, and Climate Change. His specific focus is on developing effective legal and policy frameworks and practices for sustainable investment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including decarbonization and just transitions to net-zero emission energy systems and economies.
Speaking English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish, Martin works in many global contexts—evident in his involvement in projects in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. He has a talent for turning data into compelling narratives and has produced widely consulted and seminal reports in his focus areas. He is an accomplished publications professional, having led the end-to-end production of a trilingual online journal and overseen the editorial process of numerous reports. He also plays a leadership role in some of CCSI’s flagship global training programs, for which he draws on his and the Center’s international network of top-level experts to share their knowledge and skills. He is a respected thought leader in his field, with work that has influenced high-level institutional decisions.
Before joining CCSI, Martin worked as international law advisor at a global think tank, in-house counsel at a media conglomerate, and associate attorney at a boutique law firm. As a graduate student, he undertook a legal internship at United Nations Climate Change. He received a B.A. in Economics, a Bachelor of Laws, and a specialization certificate in Environmental Law from the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil. He holds an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from NYU School of Law, where he was an IILJ International Law Fellow.
Lisa Sweat joined CCSI in 2018 to help the Center refine its strategic direction and lead its fundraising efforts as Associate Director of Development and Strategy. Prior to that, she was at the International Senior Lawyers Project, where she established and managed their Myanmar Program from 2013 to 2015 before helping the organization undertake a strategic transition and eventually serving as Director of Strategy. Her previous experience also includes legal internships with the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Burma Lawyers’ Council in Mae Sot, Thailand, as well as research assistance for The Center on Law and Security, for a law firm representing victims’ rights at the International Criminal Court, and for NGOs working in the areas of international economic development, security, and human rights. She holds a JD from New York University School of Law and a BA from Emory University, and is admitted to the bar in New York.
Lisa Sachs is the Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), a joint Center of Columbia Climate School and Columbia Law School; Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Climate School; and Director of Columbia's M.S. in Climate Finance. Since joining CCSI in 2008, she established and oversees CCSI’s interdisciplinary research and advisory work on the alignment of investment law, practice, and policy with the Sustainable Development Goals. She is a globally recognized expert in the ways that laws, policies and business practices shape global investment flows and affect sustainable development. She works with governments around the world, regional and international development organizations, financial institutions, companies, civil society organizations and academic centers to understand the inter-relations of investment flows and sustainable development, and to influence investment policies and practices to promote the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University, a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar and recipient of the Parker School Certificate in International and Comparative Law.
Laura Garcia Cancino is a Senior Legal Researcher at CCSI, with a focus on leveraging law and metrics to address climate change challenges and accelerate the energy transition. Her expertise also encompasses the role of extractive industries in sustainable investment. Prior to joining CCSI, her work at the International Energy Agency (IEA) centered on energy efficiency and demand-side measures’ pivotal role in reducing fossil fuel dependence and driving the energy transition. With a comprehensive legal background in Latin America, she has additionally served as in-house counsel for a multinational oil and gas explorer, managing E&P and dispute resolution matters. Her legal insight extends from her former position as an Associate of an international law firm's Energy, Mining, and Infrastructure team, offering strategic guidance to multinational companies engaged in developing large-scale projects in the mining, oil and gas, power, and renewable sectors. She holds a J.D. from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, an Advanced Degree in Mining & Energy Law and Sustainable Development from Universidad de los Andes, where she graduated first of her class, a Master of Science in International Energy from the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po, where she served as a Board Member of the Sciences Po Energy Association, and an LL.M. in Energy and Environmental Law from Georgetown University Law Center, where she graduated with honors. She is also a co-founder of coMpower, a nonprofit association that promotes the participation and empowerment of young women in the energy sector in Colombia.
Lara Fornabaio is a Senior Legal Researcher at CCSI, focusing on sustainable investment in land, agriculture, and food systems. Prior to joining CCSI, she worked at the environmental law charity ClientEarth, where she led the work on agriculture and food systems and managed a team responsible for the delivery of a broad portfolio of projects on clean air, water, and soil. She has extensive experience in designing advocacy strategies at the European Union level and in bringing legal challenges aimed at better implementation and enforcement of environmental laws.
She holds an LLM from the University of Torino (Italy) and a PhD in EU Food Law from the University of Ferrara (Italy). She carried out research as a visiting scholar at Wageningen University (The Netherlands), the University of Nantes (France), and the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (Switzerland). She has researched in a variety of legal and multidisciplinary domains, from EU food and environmental law to governance studies and indigenous law and methodology.
Ladan Mehranvar is a senior legal researcher for the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment, with a focus on investment law and policy, and human rights and sustainable investment. In addition, she is a lecturer at Princeton University, where she teaches Environmental Law and Policy. Her previous experience includes work for a national law firm in Toronto, Canada, with a focus on environmental and expropriation law, an NGO in Guatemala supporting indigenous communities on issues surrounding human rights and extractive industries, and as a legal researcher at Amnesty International (Vancouver) and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (Costa Rica). She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Ecology from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia, a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School, and an LLM from the University of Toronto. Her research at Osgoode and Toronto largely focused on the impact of foreign investment on subaltern communities in Latin America.
Hansika Agrawal is a legal researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, with a focus on Land, Agriculture & Food Systems. At CCSI, she advances research, training, and technical and advisory support around strengthening the governance of land-based investments, in collaboration with civil society organizations, governments, and other actors. She was previously a Fellow with the Global Justice Clinic at New York University School of Law, where she advanced research and training on community rights, climate justice, and corporate accountability. Her prior work experience includes advancing legal empowerment, human rights investigations, strategic litigation, and advocacy approaches. She has worked with various organizations on advancing Indigenous land rights in Guyana, and the rights of migrant domestic workers, rights of older people, and rights to housing in Hong Kong. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Hong Kong, as well as a Master of Laws in International Legal Studies from New York University School of Law, where she was a Dean's Graduate Scholar, an International Law and Human Rights Fellow, and a Research Assistant at the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
Esther Akwii is a Legal Researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, focusing on Land, Agriculture, and Food Systems. Before joining CCSI, she was a senior clinical fellow at the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic. She was also an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School and worked with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems. She has also worked at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. Esther’s expertise spans a broad range of topics, including land tenure, livestock agriculture, the right to food, farm viability, food loss and waste, food security, climate change, and natural resource governance. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Food and Agriculture Law (with Distinction) from Vermont Law School and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Makerere University. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice and a Diploma in Law (First Class) from the Law Development Centre.
Denise Hearn is a writer, applied researcher, and advisor focused on how economic power and paradigms shape our world. She advises governments, financial institutions, companies, and nonprofits on antitrust, economic policy, and new economic thinking. She co-authored The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition – named one of the Financial Times’ Best Books of 2018. Her writing has been translated into 9 languages and featured in publications such as: The Financial Times, The Globe and Mail, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Responsible Investor, and The Washington Post. She currently authors the Embodied Economics newsletter. She is Advisory Board Chair of The Predistribution Initiative and was previously a Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project. She has an MBA from the Oxford Saïd Business School and a BA in International Studies from Baylor University.
Bradford M. Willis is a Senior Associate at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. He focuses on integrated policy and financing strategies to accelerate the transition of energy, industry, and natural resource systems around the world. Most recently, he was a Special Advisor to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, where he focused on developing sustainable investment mechanisms, shaping regional transition pathways, and bridging public-private action to unlock and scale just, climate-aligned economic transformation. He began his career working on energy transition and net zero related topics for major utilities and energy service providers across North America, Europe, the Middle East, & Africa. In 2021, He began working with the World Economic Forum’s Transitioning Industrial Clusters Initiative supporting the regional decarbonization of hard-to-abate industry. In the lead up to COP28, he was Seconded to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions to lead their Clean Power & Green Hydrogen before transitioning to high-level advisory on cross-sectoral breakthrough targets for key industries and enabling policy/finance mechanisms. He now advises private sector leaders, national and subnational governments, and multilateral organizations on the structural shifts needed to align investment, infrastructure, and policy with 21st-century climate and development goals. He works across industries, geographies, and intersecting spheres of political and economic influence to bridge sustainable development, finance, and global polycrisis responses. He is on the Steering Committee for the Beyond Bretton Woods Initiative, a Senior Advisor for the UK 30x30 Campaign, and a Global Ambassador for multiple breakthrough technologies advancing major climate mitigation and/or adaptation projects.
Ben Baraga supports the Center's research on investment governance and the energy transition. He received a BA in Public Policy Analysis and Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, studying a mixture of quantitative and qualitative approaches to climate policy. For extracurriculars, he worked as a Teaching Assistant for Applied Econometric, researched drought and wildfire solutions for the U.S. Green Building Council chapter in Los Angeles, and served as Head Tour Guide for Admissions during his time as an undergraduate. His independent research included an assessment of the viability of nature-based climate solutions at the Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, and a senior thesis on the detransition of California's first local air quality cap-and-trade program.
Anjaly Ariyanayagam is a Strategy & Communications Officer at CCSI. She brings deep experience in strategic messaging and a strong belief in the power of participatory processes to drive sustainable solutions. Focusing on human rights, sustainability and environmental justice initiatives, she is passionate about engaging with stakeholders to identify their communication needs and getting clear messages out into the ecosystem.
At CCSI, Anjaly develops engagement frameworks and outreach strategies that help our work reach the rooms (and screens) of people who can act on it. She works closely with researchers to make complex ideas click through thoughtful communications and targeted engagement plans. Her recent work spans Just Energy Transitions, Land and Agriculture, and Climate Finance — where she’s helped strengthen internal systems and grow the Center’s reach with policy and practitioner audiences. She’s also building tools to better understand how research is received in the real world, supporting long-term learning and moving beyond likes and clicks.
Before joining CCSI, Anjaly worked at a brand consultancy firm, where she specialized in impact communications and led work for clients like Unilever and the United Nations. She later transitioned into the development sector, leading stakeholder engagement to co-design and evaluate skill-development programs in India. Most recently, she completed a fellowship with a public engagement firm, supporting state and city governments in New York through toolkits, participatory action planning, and coalition-building.
Anjaly holds a BS in Visual Communication from the University of Madras and an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, learning to navigate on-the-ground insight and high-level frameworks — preferably mapped out in color-coded charts!Ana Maria Camelo Vega is a Senior Economics and Finance Researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. Her expertise lies at the intersection of finance, economics, and sustainability. Through evidence-based strategies like green financing and impact investing, she is dedicated to promoting innovative approaches aimed at advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With extensive experience in both quantitative and qualitative research, she expertly analyzes the pathways critical to achieving global climate goals, facilitating the energy transition, and advising various financial sector actors and regulators. At CCSI, Ana Maria leads the work in international climate finance, with a specific focus on emerging markets.
She has led projects in advancing the financing pathways for the energy transition from a regional perspective in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe. Her efforts are crucial in creating effective frameworks for the public, private, and institutional financial sectors to transition towards sustainable and resilient economies.
Previously, Ana María worked both in the private and public sectors. At Finance in Motion, she managed multiple technical assistance projects to optimize investment transactions aimed at promoting sustainable finance through the LAGreen Fund. Her efforts supported the issuance of GSS+ bonds in ten Latin American countries, contributing to substantial greenhouse gas mitigation.
She has also served as an economic adviser at Colombia's Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and the Ministry of Housing, Cities, and Territory, where she contributed to national strategic priorities, green taxonomy development, and urbanization policy. She also has a rich background in policy analysis.
Ana María holds a Master of Science in Public Policy from NYU's Wagner Graduate School and double Bachelor's degrees in Applied Economics and Global Studies from the College of St. Scholastica.