Climate Change Risk in Financial Markets: Advancing the Conversation in 2021

Steven Kennedy is global head of public policy at International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). He helps develop ISDA’s advocacy and engagement strategies, and oversees its public policy and research teams in New York, Washington, London, Brussels, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.

Kennedy joined ISDA in 2011. Prior to that, he was an independent consultant advising domestic and international clients on financial relations strategies. He graduated from Baruch College and holds dual U.S.–Irish citizenship.

Nahiomy Alvarez is a senior analyst in the Financial Markets Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Her work focuses on regulatory and public policy issues relating to financial market infrastructure, counterparty risk management, and financial stability. Prior to joining the Bank, Alvarez worked in Washington, DC, where her consulting work centered on tax policy, financial regulation, tech policy, and labor markets. Alvarez graduated from Williams College and holds a BA in political economy.

Eugene Montoya joined Wells Fargo in early 2020 as a climate change specialist focusing on enterprise-level capacity-building. He has recently migrated into a leading role with the Sustainable Finance Center of Excellence as a climate strategy and impact specialist connecting the work of climate scenario analysis with internal risk and finance-use cases. Previous to Wells, Montoya spent over five years with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York focusing on trade, investment, and commodity finance verticals across U.S. markets and the implications for financial condition, business strategy, and corporate governance oversight. Montoya has worked on climate-related risks and opportunities since 2009, with direct and significant experience in the buy side, sell side, ETFs, project finance, banking, and sovereign wealth.

Christopher Palazzolo is a principal and head of responsible investment and EMEA at AQR Capital Management. In his role, he leads the firm’s ESG initiatives globally, as well as AQR’s business development, client service, and operations in the EMEA region. Prior to joining AQR, Palazzolo was a business development manager and consultant for the Palladium Group, and was previously an analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Management Division’s product management group. He is co-author of several articles, including “Clearing the air: Responsible investment.” He is on the advisory council of the AQR Asset Management Institute at London Business School and was a member of the UNPRI’s ESG DDQ Working Group. Palazzolo earned a BA in political science with a concentration in economics from Amherst College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MPA from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. He is a CFA charterholder.

Steven Rothstein is the founding managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. Ceres Accelerator aims to transform the practices and policies that govern capital markets in order to accelerate reduction of the worst financial impacts of the climate crisis and other sustainability threats. Rothstein’s 40 years of experience will be critical to explore the most effective strategies for the Ceres Accelerator to focus on and move capital markets toward climate sustainability.

Rothstein has had a successful career starting, managing, and growing several nonprofit, social change, and government organizations. After college, he was one of the founding members of Citizens Energy Corporation, the world’s only nonprofit oil company. This enterprise, as well as its related organizations, grew to provide significant assistance to numerous low-income individuals to meet their heating and other energy needs. After several years there, Rothstein went on to manage a $300 million Massachusetts human service state agency’s programs and facilities for people with intellectual disabilities. He then started and ran Environmental Futures, a management and market consulting company serving a wide range of enterprises in the U.S. and internationally. He also ran the New England market for Constellation’s entry and expansion into this market as a successful electricity broker. His career also includes running the world renowned Perkins School for the Blind, as well as Citizen Schools and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Rothstein has worked at local, state, federal, and international levels of government. He served on many nonprofit and government boards. He has spoken and written extensively and worked with partners in the corporate, nonprofit, government, and philanthropy sectors.

Rothstein is currently on the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence board and the Mass Civic Learning Coalition’s steering committee. Rothstein has a BA in political science from Williams College and an MBA from Northeastern University’s D’Amore–McKim School of Business. He also studied at the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy.

Anita Herrera has over 25 years of legal experience in derivatives, energy, legal risk management, and commodity futures trading. She joined Nodal Exchange as the chief compliance officer in October 2008. She oversees legal, governance, regulatory, and compliance matters for Nodal Exchange. Herrera’s career includes working as an attorney at both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She also served as trading counsel for Statoil Energy and was in private practice before joining Nodal Exchange. Herrera is an active member of the bar in Virginia and Washington, DC, and is a certified public accountant (currently inactive). She holds a juris doctorate from Temple University Beasley School of Law and a BBA from the College of William & Mary.