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!
Product & Engineering
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.
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.
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.
Ahmed Lamidi 🇳🇬 🇺🇸
Ahmed is a software engineer and computer science student at University of South Florida. He is passionate about combating climate change because he believes in the power of technology to create lasting solutions and is proud to bring his professional tools and skills to the fight.
Lynette Murguia 🇺🇸 🇲🇽Lynette is a UX Designer with a background in the financial services industry. Having worked in banks as a customer service rep, turned UX Designer, she hopes to make an impact by advocating for a greener future and designing simple and easy-to-use products. In her spare time, she loves to travel, hike, cook, and spend time with friends and family.
Pooria Taghdiri 🇮🇷 🇨🇦Pooria is a passionate software engineer, eager to learn new technologies and gain insights from others. He enjoys making even a small positive impact on the environment. Riding a bike, rock climbing, Physics, Astronomy, reading books, and listening to music are integral parts of his life.
Nikita Pardeshi 🇮🇳 🇺🇸Nikita is an experienced Software Automation Tester, who is now trying her hand at software development. She is currently working 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.
Adnan Haramy 🇸🇾
Adnan is a dedicated software engineer with a specialization in frontend development. His enthusiasm for acquiring new technological skills is matched by his commitment to improving the world. Driven by a desire to make a positive impact, he aims to develop innovative solutions that assist individuals and organizations in addressing the challenges of climate change.
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.
Jacklyn Hart 🇺🇸
Jacklyn transition from her career in traditional finance to focus on impact investments in 2021. She is devoted to doing her part to mitigate climate change and make the world a better place.
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.