Speaker Line-up at 19th Annual SRI in the Rockies Conference Released

Sept. 24, 2008 - PRLog -- COLORADO SPRINGS, CO/// Award-winning veteran journalist David Brancaccio, Stephen Lewis, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations and Barbara J. Krumsiek, Chair, CEO, and President of Calvert Group, Ltd. are among a powerful group of speakers and topics slated for the 19th annual SRI in the Rockies Conference, October 26–29, 2008.

Mr. Brancaccio, host of the PBS news magazine NOW and author of Squandering Aimlessly; will moderate a roundtable on industry trends at SRI in the Rockies, which will be held at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler in the stunning Canadian Rockies in Whistler, British Columbia.  This year’s meeting is expected to draw a record 700 sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) industry practitioners and professionals from related fields in the United States, Canada, and around the world—the largest gathering in the conference’s 19-year history.

The 2008 conference theme is Beyond Borders: Investing & Partnering for a Sustainable World.  Sessions will focus on sustainable finance and investing, ramifications of the credit crisis, business ethics and transparency, new trends in shareholder activism, climate change, various emerging issues and industries like clean tech, the latest on community investing, and a host of other topics.

In addition to Mr. Brancaccio, plenary speakers include:

•   Doug Bauer, Senior Vice President , Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
•   Melissa Brown, former Executive Director, Association of Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA)
•   Timothy "Scott" Case, Technologist, Entrepreneur, Inventor: Co-Founder, priceline.com
•   Michelle Chan, Program Manager, Green Investments Project, Friends of the Earth; President of BankTrack
•   Dave Chen, Venture Capitalist; Chairman of the Oregon Innovation Council
•   Matt Christensen, Executive Director, European Social Investment Forum
•   Eugene Ellmen, Executive Director, Social Investment Organization, Canada
•   Sarah Forrest, Executive Director, Goldman Sachs Sustain, London
•   Reynold Hert, President, CEO and Director, Western Forest Products Inc.
•   Jennifer James, Urban Cultural Anthropologist
•   Michael Jantzi, President and Founder, Jantzi Research
•   Barbara J. Krumsiek, Chair, CEO, and President of Calvert Group, Ltd.
•   Valerie Langer, Director, BC Coast Campaigns, ForestEthics
•   Kenneth G. Lay, Vice President and Treasurer, The World Bank
•   Stephen Lewis, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
•   Ross McMillan, President and CEO, Tides Canada Foundation
•   Ken Melamed, Mayor of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, BC
•   Sandra Odendahl, Chair, North American Task Force, UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
•   Jack Robinson, Founder, Winslow Management Company
•   Richard Russell, Board President, The Russell Family Foundation
•   Art Sterritt, Executive Director of the Coastal First Nations
•   Lisa Woll, CEO of the Social Investment Forum (U.S.)

SRI in the Rockies is a partnership between First Affirmative Financial Network and the non-profit Social Investment Forum (SIF).  The conference attracts a wide range of investment professionals—from financial advisors to institutional investors and mutual fund companies—as well as social research and proxy voting organizations.  Members of religious organizations and social change non-profits, and officers from community development banks, credit unions and related organizations also will be in attendance.

ABOUT FIRST AFFIRMATIVE
First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC (www.FirstAffirmative.com) is an independent fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-5687).  The company, which manages about $700 million in client portfolios, offers consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious investors.  First Affirmative produces the annual SRI in the Rockies Conference (www.SRIintheRockies.com), the premier conference for the sustainable and responsible investment industry in North America.

ABOUT THE SOCIAL INVESTMENT FORUM
The Social Investment Forum (SIF) is the U.S. membership association dedicated to advancing the concept, practice, and growth of socially and environmentally responsible investing.  SIF members integrate economic, environmental, social, and governance factors into their investment decisions.  SIF membership includes more than 500 social investment practitioners and institutions, including financial professionals, analysts, portfolio managers, banks, mutual funds, researchers, foundations, community development organizations, and public educators.  More information about the Forum, including the 2007 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States, is available at www.socialinvest.org.

REGISTRATION AND SPONSORSHIPS
To register to attend the conference, go to www.sriintherockies.com/register.jsp.  For assistance with registration and sponsorships, please contact Krystala Kalil at 303-442-4463 / krystala@SRIintheRockies.com.

MEDIA QUESTIONS
Mo Shafroth for First Affirmative and SRI in the Rockies:  720-470-3653 / mshafroth@csg-pr.com
Patrick Mitchell for the Social Investment Forum:  703-276-3266 /  pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com