Who we are
Bank.Green was founded by a group of volunteers – Albert Carter, Ilias Ism, Neil Simpson, and Zak Gottlieb – in late 2020. Each of us had been working on ways to raise awareness about the climate crisis, without paying much attention to our money. We became united by one, almost ridiculous question:
Are we working to help the environment, while our own money is simultaneously destroying it?
We asked our banks this question, but it was difficult to get a full answer. Unfortunately, the biggest retail banks in the world are indeed supporting environmentally-destructive projects.
Why is this still happening? Why is it not being talked about enough? We believe there are many answers to these questions. We also believe that if a bank was facing significant challenges from a large number of its own customers, it would divest from projects that are harming us. When we concluded this, Bank.Green was born.
There are many environmentally-harmful activities that banks enable, but Bank.Green has decided to focus its efforts on fossil fuel extraction. This is both to streamline our mission and to tackle one of the biggest drivers of global heating.
Time is running out. If you feel the same, join us, because having your support will make all the difference.
Our Directors
Zak Gottlieb 🇸🇪 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
Zak joined the climate movement in 2019 after feeling the world was sleep-walking towards catastrophe and wanting to use his knowledge of digital marketing to do something about it. At Bank.Green, he is responsible for our growth and partnerships, while liaising with banks about how we represent them. When he is not working towards systemic change, he enjoy climbing and is an avid movie goer.
Albert R Carter 🇺🇸 🇻🇳 Driven by the disastrous impacts of the 2010 BP oil spill on the Vietnamese fishers and shrimpers in his Gulf Coast childhood community, Albert is always looking for high-leverage ways to fight climate change. Trained as a software engineer, and scrum master, he is the Director of Research and of Product & Engineering at Bank.Green. Outside of environmental activism, he enjoys bike touring, climbing, and hiking.
Meet the Team
Content
Nicole Gustas 🇺🇸
Nicole has spent her career creating and optimising tourism content and marketing campaigns. She put her skills to work for climate activism when she realised that the climate crisis was destroying all of the beautiful places she promoted. She is currently Director of Content for Bank.Green.
Rory Joy 🇮🇪
Rory has three years of experience as a freelancer content and creative writer. He turned to volunteering while looking to do something more meaningful in his life and and take real action against the climate crisis. In his free time he enjoys hitting the ski slopes!
Development
Dave Goslyn 🇬🇧 🇨🇦Dave is a charity sector professional who's worked for NGOs in the UK, Canada and Colombia, and currently leads on fundraising for both a Toronto-based charity and Bank Green. He loves designing and arguing the case for new programmes, campaigns and product ideas, and if he's not deep in a fundraising proposal he's busy thinking up new ways raise the funds we need to achieve our essential mission. Either that, or taking any opportunity he can to practice his Spanish, play football or go paddle boarding!
Andrew Selzer-Wong 🇺🇸Andrew has been active in the startup and impact investing space in numerous roles including venture capitalist at MDC Ventures, CFO at ImpactAlpha and Banger Games, founder at Fundie Ventures impact consulting, entrepreneurship professor at Geneva Business School, and a startup advisor at EIT Food Accelerator Network. Andrew holds a Masters in Advanced Finance from IE Busines School, an MBA from Vienna's Walker School of Business, and was twice named Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe and Spain.
Product & Engineering
Julie Paik
Julie has joined Bank.Green as a UX Designer; she is based in NYC but is frequently with her family in Houston. In her past life she has worked as a software engineer as well as some roles in marketing/communications and educational non-profit work. When she is not sitting at her desk you’ll find her playing ultimate, climbing, skiing and generally anything active and social or reading, drawing/crafting, and listening to podcasts! While she don’t officially have a pet of her own, she’ll often refer to her 14 year old family dog, Gomi, as her own.
Ning Tao 🇨🇳
Ning is from Shanghai and currently, she's working from Vancouver as a UX designer. Her background was in Finance, and she later pivoted into product design. Ning is excited to work in a cross-functional team. She is reachable on her LinkedIn.
Komal Rao 🇮🇳 🇺🇸
Komal has transitioned into UX a little over a year ago after 7 years of her stint at Adobe as a Backend Software Engineer! She is super interested in getting into climate tech and hoping that's the way forward for her! Outside of work, she illustrates, dances, cooks( really basic stuff ) and mostly spends her weekends trying to find new vegan places in SF! She is reachable on her LinkedIn , as she also loves meeting new people and learning about them.
Sophia Auer 🇩🇪Soph is a Software Engineer, specialized in Frontend and has been in the tech industry in other positions since over 6 years. They're passionate about using their skills to have a positive impact on climate justice, education and other causes. In their free time, they have more hobbies than time allows but currently love spending time on music, art and skateboarding.
Moshood Liasu 🇳🇬
Embarking on environmental awareness journey during his undergraduate years, Moshood has been a dedicated advocate for climate initiatives. Now, part of the Bank Green team, he leverages his expertise in managing cloud solutions, including Microsoft 365 and Azure, to contribute meaningfully to combating the urgent climate crisis.
Aaron Hoffer 🇺🇸Aaron is a Software Engineer and Data Scientist from San Francisco specialising in building SaaS platforms that use data to help improve the decision-making capabilities at scale. He's passionate about applying these skills to climate solutions in finance and transportation. Recently, his free time has been taken up by hobbies that were most relevant before cellphones, including photography and watch repair.
Devante Agu 🇺🇸 🇳🇬Devante is a Product Manager with experience in delivering SaaS and Marketplace products that meet user needs and business objectives. Passionate about climate and environmental initiatives, he's motivated to create change in financial industry by empowering people and businesses through technology. Outside of building and growing products, Devante remains committed to personal growth through reading, fitness, and connecting with open-minded individuals.
Joscelyn Vásquez 🇵🇪Jos is a UX Designer with experience in web-based solutions. As a former environmental consultant, her interaction local people and communities shaped her mindset, driving her transition to UX. Her goal is to contribute to the development of solutions that help people and organizations mitigate climate change.
Nikita Pardeshi 🇮🇳 🇺🇸Nikita is an experienced Software Automation Tester, who is now transitioning her career into software development. She is volunteering as a Software Developer on a project aimed at preserving the environment and making a positive impact on the planet. In her free time, she likes staying active, cooking.
Michael Scheiwiller 🇨🇭Michael is a data scientist specializing in sustainability and clean tech, using his skills trying to make impactful solutions in these critical fields. He recently developed a passion for open source and tries to contribute in the ecosystem whereever possible. Outside of work, he enjoys sports in all variations and spening time with friends and family.
Research
Katherine Markova 🇬🇧 🇺🇸Katherine is a climate consultant and a sustainability educator. She pivoted into climate work in 2022 after a 20-year career in finance and currently heads up Bank.Green's Research Team. In her spare time, Katherine is an environmental activist and a green banking champion.
Marcos Oliveira 🇧🇷Marcos is a Senior Data Scientist and Computer Science Professor passionate about data-driven solutions. He holds a BSc. and an MSc. in Computer Science, as well as a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. With over 10 years of experience, he has applied data manipulation, visualization, statistics, and artificial intelligence in various research projects. He aspires to make a positive impact on society by being part of Bank.Green.
Alia Yusuf 🇮🇩 🇬🇧
Alia is a research assistant with a background in international organisations and public policy. Conscious of the urgency of the climate crisis, she is looking for other more direct ways to help out. In her spare time, you will likely find her playing badminton or creating illustrations.
Fionán Fitzpatrick 🇮🇪 🇨🇦
Fionán has a background in climate policy research. Having worked and travelled in different parts of the world for the past few years, the pervasive nature of climate change in all aspects of life provided the motivation to take a more active role in the fight to create positive change. In his spare time he likes running and reading (often about climate!)
Sugam Upadhayay 🇳🇵 🇺🇸Financial Analyst with a focus on Circular Economy for a sustainable future. Previously worked in the banking and hospitality industry. Currently researching ways to move from the Linear Economy to the Circular Economy model for mitigating the effects of irresponsible consumption, and adverse climate change.
Marjolein van Dillen 🇳🇱Marjolein lives in Hilversum, Netherlands, and has a background in banking and IT. After retiring in 2020, she focused on sustainable data, contributing to FossilFree Netherlands and groen-pensioen.nl, helping ABP divest from fossil fuels. Now, she's working on a Proof of Concept at Bank.Green to automatically identify investments that don't align with ESG policies.
Viviana Vargas Nocua 🇨🇴
Viviana is a multidisciplinary professional focused on socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability. With a background in economics and a master’s in project management, she’s committed to transformative change that uplifts quality of life for all sentient beings. In her spare time, she enjoys meditation, Tai Chi and inline skating.
Other
Steve Goslyn
Retired Charity CEO and housing professional. Using experience of strategic leadership and business growth to support Bank Green’s fundraising activities. Dad to Toronto-based David Goslyn on the fundraising team. Based in Manchester UK but got involved in Bank Green during a family stay in Australia. Keen organic gardener and runner. Committed to a range of environmental issues and delighted to have found this opportunity to contribute to Bank Green