Net Impact Club Leadership 2013-14
Garrett Wilson – President
Prior to Darden, Garrett worked for 5 years in the Global Markets Division at Bank of America. He stepped away from the financial markets to come to Darden and pursue a career that aligned more directly with his passion for the environment and uncovering business opportunities that are driving environmental and social innovation. Garrett received a degree in Government from Georgetown University and will be spending the summer at DBL Investors, a venture capital firm that invests in companies that can deliver top-tier financial returns and enable social and environmental benefits. He is an avid surfer and loves to travel.
Alex Fife – Vice President, Speakers & Events
Before Darden, Alex worked at Community Wealth Ventures as a management consultant for nonprofits and entrepreneurs looking to launch and scale social enterprises. He started his career in the Executive Office of the Brookings Institution, a Washington DC think tank, where he focused on strategic and financial planning for the organization. Alex is a graduate of Duke University and a native of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Contact: FifeE14@darden.virginia.edu
Eliav Bitan – Vice President, Careers
Eliav Bitan has worked on farms in Maine, Pennsylvania and
Iowa, and has a degree in History of Science from Columbia University, with a
focus on environmental biology. He has worked on agriculture and climate change
policy across the United States by engaging with farmers, researchers,
regulators and activists. He came to business school to transition to the
private sector, where he hopes to make a bigger impact on the issues he is
passionate about.
Chirag Jain – Vice President, Campus Greening & Curriculum Change
CJ spent four years as an energy
sector consultant focused on the North American power markets. In his spare time, he volunteered with an inner-city mentorship program in D.C. working with
at-risk youth. CJ discovered a passion for economic development through his
first-hand experience of the 1998 South East Asian financial crisis, as well as
his summer work with a social enterprise based in the brothels of Calcutta.
Through his work with Freeset, CJ learned about
blending value-creating business with meaningful social change. He loves good
beer and up for a game of pick-up basketball anytime.
Emily Weinman – Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Emily spent five years working in marketing in NYC before coming to Darden to pursue a sustainably-focused career in the food and beverage industry. Outside of work, she studied at the French Culinary Institute, served on the board of a community supported agriculture co-op, and spent her summer prior to Darden working on a sustainable family farm. This summer, Emily is interning with a juice startup in Park City, Utah.
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Rohan Poojara - Vice President, Finance
Rohan Poojara graduated from
Washington and Lee University in 2008. Prior to Darden, he worked as an investment banking
analyst at Lincoln International in Chicago and an economic policy researcher
at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. He also volunteered for
a year as an Analyst for Partners for the Common Good, a DC-based community
development financial institution and spent four months as a Savings Project
Manager at Thanekaea Phum, a Cambodian microfinance institution. At Darden,
Rohan is the Senior Portfolio Manager of the Rotunda Fund, a sustainability
focused fund that invests ~$1m of the school’s endowment in publicly traded
equities, and is on the board of the Emerging Markets Development Club.
Christine Dreas - Vice President, Conference
Christine graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering. Prior to Darden, Christine worked as a Technology Consultant for Deloitte Consulting. In this role, she volunteered in education and community development through the Rotoract Club. At Darden, Christine tutors at the elementary school, actively participates in the Education and Net Impact Clubs (the best clubs, of course), and occassionally remembers to fit in time for schoolwork. This summer, Christine will be interning as a Graduate Fellow with Education Pioneers in Washington, DC.
Anna Payne - Director of Board Fellows
After graduating from Dartmouth College, Anna spent four
years working for Virginia Senator Mark Warner, focusing most recently on
environmental and agricultural policy. In her first year at Darden, she started
shadowing the board of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, and she will be interning
at a community foundation in Boulder, Colorado this summer. A Charlottesville
native, Anna loves hiking, local food and occasionally trying to make baked
goods.