Team, Board, Advisors and Lifetime Members

Don Megrath, Executive Director

📥 don[at]investors-circle[dot]org

Don is Co-Founder and a Managing Director of VectorPoint Ventures, a seed through early growth stage life sciences, health and clean technology-focused impact fund manager targeting investments in North America and co-founder of the VectorPoint Impact Partners (VIP) fund. With over 30 years of business experience, Don has held numerous operational and leadership roles across various industries and disciplines, including finance, information technology, strategic planning, operational execution, and corporate development. 

An early stage investor since 1997, today he also serves as the volunteer moderator of the Angel Capital Association (ACA) cleantech syndication group and co-moderator of the ACA impact investing syndication group.  He has been a member of the E8 cleantech-focused angel group off and on since 2007 and a member of the Keiretsu Forum NW/ Rockies Angel Group for the last 14 years (serving as volunteer Portland, Oregon Chapter President periodically since 2012).  Don is passionate about impact investing into early stage companies and working to grow the Investors Circle community.

Previously, Don served several years at a Northwest US-based private equity firm, where he was actively involved in structuring and closing numerous financing transactions in small and emerging companies. Earlier, Don co-founded multiple technology start-ups and held key management positions in private and public middle market companies. Don began his career as an award-winning media producer/director and owner in several media services companies. Don holds both M.B.A. and B.A. degrees from George Fox University. He is actively involved in a handful of non-profit organizations and professional organizations focused on entrepreneurship, finance, and impact.  An Oregon native, he lives in the Portland area with his family and enjoys adventures in the outdoors.  

Ted Ryan, Operations Associate

📥 info[at]investors-circle[dot]org

Ted is a business student in his final year at Northeastern University focusing on Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship and International Business. Through Northeastern's co-op program, Ted gained valuable professional experience at Milltown Capital, a place-based impact-focused private equity firm.  He then worked as a project expeditor at Dalkia, an energy efficiency company under the EDF Group. His diverse background includes internships at technology and energy startups, giving him a unique perspective on operational excellence within impact-focused investment landscapes. Beyond his professional pursuits, Ted is actively involved with multiple environmental and ocean-focused nonprofits. 

Sunil Desai, Treasurer

Sunil Desai is a retired US Marine infantry officer and graduate of the US Naval Academy.  He is the founder of The Bindi Project, an NGO working in India to help improve how women and girls are treated there.  He began impact investing in 2015 and joined Investors Circle in 2017.  His investing goal is improving human and environmental health and security.  While at Navy he was an All-American Squash player and still competes in amateur tournaments and coaches at a public high school in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Eli Fadil

Eli Fadil is an Impact Investing Professional currently attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for his MBA. Eli has held impact investing positions at J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management division and the World Wildlife Fund's Impact Investing team.

Outside of his full-time roles, Eli consults for a foundation focused on addressing challenges related to climate change and sustainable agriculture. He fills the rest of his time with anything that keeps him active and outdoors: running, hiking, skiing, surfing, yoga and more.

Eli graduated from Kenyon College Magna Cum Laude with High Honors in Economics.

Babbie Jacobs, Board Vice Chair

In 2015 Social Venture Network / Investors Circle asked Babbie to help develop programming to assist the remarkable philanthropists she was working with at Bolder Giving to develop programming to align their investments with their philanthropic values.

Since then she has gone on to become the NY Chapter President, National Investor Member Coordinator and started four working groups to address the incredible wealth gap and affect systemic change.

During her 30 years in Alaska, Babbie co-owned and operated a remote wilderness mountaineering guide service in the heart of the Wrangell St. Elias National Park on the Yukon Border and led naturalist trips into Chukotka, on one step down from an ice breaker to visit Chukchi villages, reindeer herder camps, walrus haul outs and polar bears in the Russian Far East. 

As her passion shifted from adventure back to social justice, Babbie worked with The Alaska Community Foundation where she supported volunteers in developing local community foundation affiliates in rural communities throughout the state. During her tenure with the Foundation, Babbie developed “Conversations About Causes That Matter,” a series of dialogues designed to engage philanthropists in conversations about social justice issues including teen suicide, feeding hungry youth, early childhood education, and women in philanthropy. 

After 30 years she moved from Alaska to Brooklyn to join Bolder Giving, an NGO in NYC with a mission to inspire philanthropists to “risk more and give more”. 

Diane Keefe

Diane Keefe invests in early-stage companies whose businesses promote racial and environmental justice and wellness.  Her portfolio includes companies that address climate change, addiction, sustainable food and the prison industrial complex.  Diane founded the Pax World High Yield Fund, the first global high yield bond fund established with comprehensive social screens.  Earlier Diane served as Senior Vice President at Dillon, Read, Vice President at Oppenheimer, and Director at UBS in domestic and emerging markets fixed income.  Diane’s most recent role was Director of Business Development at BeneStream, a social enterprise that provides enrollment assistance to employees who qualify for public health insurance. 

She served on the Board of Directors of Opportunity Finance Network, and as Chair of the Investment Committee and member of the Stewardship committee of AFSC.org, a Quaker non-profit that promotes peace and shared security globally. She previously served on the investment committee of the Universal Healthcare Foundation of Connecticut and as Chair of the Investment Committee of Friends Seminary, a K-12 school in Manhattan.  She received an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and graduated from Wellesley with a BA in Political Economy.  Diane lives in Norwalk, CT with her husband.  Their dog, Saida, and their cat, LaLa, keep them company now that their twenty something son and daughter have fledged.

Peter Lupoff

Peter is the Founder and Principal of Lupoff/Stevens Family Office, a first-generation Single-Family Office, and his vehicle for direct and third-party impact investments, as well as other grant-making activities. Peter and his family are committed to fomenting a just and sustainable world, seeking acceptable financial returns alongside demonstrable social/environmental impact benefiting people and planet from their predominantly Impact/Responsible Portfolio. Peter was recently named (2023) a Sorenson Global Impact Leader.

Peter has spent more than 30 years as an investment markets practitioner, culminating in his launch of asset manager, Tiburon Capital Management (2009), before its subsequent sale to a pension consultant (2012), and Peter’s accepting the Chief Investment Officer role of the acquirer. It was in this capacity, and with institutional accounts, that Peter became enamored of the notion of investment capital’s capacity to ‘do good’ while generating finance returns.

Peter was formerly the CEO of Net Impact (2019-22), a 30-year-old NexGen-centric nonprofit. He remains a Gabelli Fellow at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, teaching impact investing and operating as the Director of Strategy for their Responsible Business Center.

In his free time, Peter is an avid fan of basketball and jazz, enjoys cooking for his family and occasionally writes articles and papers on topics that interest him.

Annarie Lyles, Board Chair

Dr. Anna Marie “Annarie” Lyles works to align business with planetary boundaries as an executive, biologist, investor, ecopreneur & advisor.  Her work and ventures span responsible investing and board governance.  At home in New Jersey, she relishes rambles with hounds, getting her hands in the dirt, restoring habitat and other nature adventures.

Annarie joined Investors Circle in 2013, became a Life Member, and served as President of its local Philadelphia group 2016-2019.  She then co-founded the Living Planet Working Group, which integrated investors with members from other networks.  Annarie has invested in several dozen IC portfolio companies, and has advised start-ups and investment funds.  She co-owns eco-technology company, Solaris Cybernetics, that is developing an aquatic robot to manage harmful algae blooms and generate biofuel.  

Her extensive governance experience includes board roles in both non-profit and private companies. She has worked to hold large companies accountable as an engaged shareholder.  Previously, Annarie gained a decade of deal-making experience as a senior executive with publicly traded Genmab (Danish headquarters) and Medarex (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb). After earning biology degrees from Yale and Princeton University, she was as an animal curator at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Central Park and Bronx Zoos.  A frequent speaker, Annarie has authored over three dozen publications.   

Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter is a Senior Consultant at Stepping Stone Partners, a boutique consultancy focused on impact investing. His work entails underwriting new investments, conducting annual reviews, and evaluating a broad range of impact investments, such as community development financial institutions, renewable energy funds and impact equity funds. His financial services background prior to SSP was with leading firms such as Vanguard, SEI, and Dealogic. Andrew has been a member of Investors Circle since 2018 and is part of the Angel Capital Association's Syndication Task Force. Prior to joining SSP, he worked with international, especially China-based, companies helping them start up and expand operations in the U.S. market. Andrew is an experienced researcher and analyst who holds a master’s degree from London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree from University of Pittsburgh. 

Jonathan Scott, Board Secretary

Jon is President and Director of the Singing Field Foundation, a small foundation staffed by family volunteers. The foundation distributes $250,000 annually in small grants to environmental, health, animal welfare and arts/culture organizations.

The foundation, together with Jon and his wife, Deborah, practice mission-related investing: “active ownership,” including proxy voting, participation in shareholder initiatives, and investments screened for values alignment. Singing Field Foundation was among the first 17 foundations that came together to launch Divest-Invest Philanthropy in 2014. Jon has been an active participant in several Confluence Philanthropy working groups.

On the national staff of Clean Water Action, Jon develops corporate partnerships, manages legacy gifts, and is a senior communications team member. Jon is on the boards of Earth Share (DC) and the Lebanon Opera House (NH). Singing Field Foundation is a member of the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Confluence Philanthropy and the Health and Environmental Funders Network, and active in the American Sustainable Business Network, Social Venture Circle, and Investors Circle.

Jon has a B.A. in Geology and Environmental Studies from Williams College (1982) and additional background and experience in studio art. He is also an avid musician (guitar, bass and percussion), father to two boys and has four grandchildren. Fun fact: Jon is the first – perhaps only – person to have tossed (and then retrieved) a frisbee from the summit of Denali. He is a Washington, DC native and has lived in New Hampshire since 1989.

Drew Tulchin

Drew has contributed immensely to startups in New Mexico. Most notably, Drew served as the first CFO of Meow Wolf, a New Mexico B Corp that creates immersive arts experiences to wow. His efforts at Meow Wolf led to raising more than $125 million in investment, the purchase of a new headquarters, and tremendous growth from 50 people to more than 400. Drew has also worked with Build with Robots, Electric Playhouse, and Parting Stone.

Drew has led NM Angels since October 2020, growing the entity fourfold. The organization and its members have invested and catalyzed an average of $5 million a year into local start up and high growth companies. He is one of four General Partners in the NM Vintage Fund, now the most active venture fund in the state. Consulting has taken Drew across New Mexico and the U.S., to Native American nations, and to more than 40 countries. He has contributed to 100+ business plans and dozens of start-ups. Drew's work has generated over $400 million in investments and has created thousands of jobs.

Drew's previous experience includes serving as an Analyst for a Bluetooth wireless firm, and Program Officer for Grameen Foundation. Drew began his career as a VISTA and AmeriCorps Team Leader in Oakland, California. Drew values community engagement. He served on Pueblo of Acoma’s Business Advisory Board and the Serve New Mexico Commission. He is currently an active member of Investors Circle, Lifetime Member of Net Impact, and Advisor to CDVCA - including their Unlock Capital Program.

Drew completed his MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle. He finished his BA, Cum Laude, in History and International Relations from Washington University in St. Louis. In his free time, Drew plays ultimate Frisbee anywhere he can, is learning tennis, hikes to get lost, eats food he doesn’t recognize, and enjoys bad puns more than he should.

Barbara (Bobbie) Silber Lamont 

Bobbie Lamont is Membership Chair of Maine Angels and the Dirigo III Fund. She participates in the Angel Capital Association Clean Tech Group and is a Steering Committee member of the Northern New England Women's Investor Network. Bobbie is Board Observer of Tanbark Molded Paper Products and a member of the Maine Technology Institute Tech Board. Bobbie maintains a public calendar of ecosystem events "Of Interest". 

Ken Merritt 

Ken Merritt is a practicing corporate and securities attorney and Managing Director of Merritt & Merritt, a boutique law firm based in Burlington, Vermont.  He has been involved for decades in the impact investment sector as an attorney, investor and as a former Board member and current pro bono advisor to Investors’ Circle.

Nesha Mutuku

Nesha Mutuku is an impact-driven entrepreneur and investment professional based in the Nashville, Tennesse area. She is passionate about using capital and creativity to push the needle towards social progress. She is currently the Principal of GoodLight Capital, a mission-driven venture fund focused on investing in underrepresented founders. She also serves as the Vice President of Lupoff/Stevens Family Office and advises on direct and fund impact investments. 

Nesha's journey towards social-entrepreneurship began as she grew up overseas, working with her family to provide ethical work for women escaping human trafficking. After seeing the debilitating social impacts of economic insecurity, she founded a fintech startup to help the next generation reach financial freedom. 

After her time as a founder, she actively advises minority-led startups, funds, and non-profits on impact strategy and scale. 

A graduate of Stetson University and passionate composer, Nesha can often be found on a piano or with her two miniature dachshunds.