Meet Our Founder
Katie Orr Sharp
Katie Orr Sharp has spent nearly two decades crafting narratives that illuminate missions, drive investment, and inspire change. During her time as a communications professional for a wide range of institutional asset managers—including Nuveen/TIAA, Mesirow, Barings, Citadel/Omnium, and TA Associates Realty—she often focused on emerging markets and ESG/sustainability, and became actively involved in women’s networks. She also played an instrumental role at LEBEC as the organization’s COO and Head of ESG, where she led its portfolio of ESG clients—in partnership with Alliance Global Advisors—through mid-2023.
In 2022, Katie created and directed the program for the Inclusive ESG for Emerging Markets Summit in London, in conjunction with M+D Advisory and the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute. In 2023, she helped direct partner breakout sessions for Bloomberg’s annual New Economy Forum in Singapore. These events brought together world leaders, government officials, global heads of sustainability/ESG, CEOs, social innovators, and academicians to engage in vital conversations that will shape the future of the global economic and ESG agendas, and support investors with the tools and knowledge to drive sustainable, alpha-generating investment strategies.
Katie holds an MBA from Wake Forest University, a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Journalism from Harvard University Extension School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Salem College—including a semester abroad devoted to Environmental Studies at St. Peter’s College of Oxford University.
Ariella Gross
Ariella Gross is an undergraduate at Washington University (WashU) in Saint Louis, studying finance and environmental analysis. An intern for Finpublica, she assists financial leaders with leveraging environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to generate shareholder value. Ariella is also a project manager within TAMID Group’s WashU chapter, where she is involved in stock selection for TAMID’s investment portfolio. Ariella has also held internships at multiple real estate companies, including RE/MAX Vision Jerusalem and Kef International Realty, where she focused on Israel’s residential real estate market. Her work for RE/MAX was featured in The Jerusalem Report, the magazine of Israel’s most widely read English newspaper. Additionally, as part of WashU’s Effective Altruism Society, Ariella supports businesses in allocating resources to maximize societal impact. Ariella earned her certification in Fundamentals of Alternative Investments from the CAIA Association and has received several awards for short story writing.