Candide Group’s team brings a wide range of expertise from activism to finance to non-profits, with over 50 collective years in impact investing. We firmly believe that social change work requires broad-ranging perspectives, and thus we actively seek to create a space that uplifts and celebrates our diversity across ethnicities, gender and sexual identity, neurodiversity, class, language and immigration experience.
Founding Partner
Aner is passionate about redefining the role of capital in communities. Since co-founding Candide Group, he has been at the forefront of pioneering multi-stakeholder governance and ownership models that ensure more equitable and fair outcomes for workers and communities.
Aner currently serves on the boards of Transform Finance, a non profit promoting a community-centered approach to impact investing; Solar Holler, a solar developer bringing solar power to Appalachia; Complete Solar, a technology-enabled solar developer in California; Firebrand Artisans, an artisan bread company with a mission to create good jobs and wealth for formerly incarcerated individuals; and Native American Natural Foods (NANF), a Native American owned company that produces buffalo-based products including Tanka Bar.
Before starting Candide, Aner was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group, where he worked with clients in the energy, water and transportation sectors. Prior to that, he worked at Israel's leading Project Finance consulting firm. Aner holds an MBA with honors from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics and History (magna cum laude) from Tel Aviv University. He is fluent in Spanish, French and Hebrew.
Chief Compliance Officer
Hope is co-founder and managing partner at Virtus LLP. Hope has served in several capacities within the financial services industry since 1999, including as general counsel and chief compliance officer of registered investment advisers, broker-dealers and public and private funds. Prior to founding Virtus LLP, she served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at a Winter Park, FL based private equity firm. She serves on the boards of the United Way of Central Florida, the Black Chamber of Commerce Central Florida and ATHENA Orlando Women’s Leadership. She is a member of the Florida Bar and serves on its Professional Ethics Committee.
Sr. Associate — Climate Justice Fund
James is a champion for shifting power and resources to communities where wealth has been historically extracted. Most recently, James worked as an investment analyst at the Skoll Foundation, supporting climate justice social innovation that centered community-led solutions from the Global South to US South. He also designed impact assessment frameworks and performed diligence for mission-related investments in underrepresented fund managers.
James is a proud Ghanaian immigrant who made his way from Connecticut to Georgia before switching coasts and settling in the Bay Area during graduate school. James completed his JD/MBA at Golden Gate University, where he supplemented his coursework with roles in venture capital, early-stage technology companies, and technology licensing. He builds on his prior experiences to bolster access to capital and empower community self-determination.
Director of Impact
Jasmine graduated with a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from Swarthmore College, where she also spent her time working as a writer, strategy consultant, associate at the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of VISIBILITY Magazine — a publication dedicated to showcasing the creative work of traditionally marginalized voices. In 2018, Jasmine became a Congressman John Lewis Fellow through the Humanity in Action network, where she engaged in issues around civil and human rights for the city of Atlanta.
A proud New Yorker, Jasmine moved to Oakland to join the Candide team and the broader financial activist community. She hopes to help redefine the culture of money through impact investing, with the goal of a truly inclusive, people-first economy.
Senior Investment Manager
Karla brings a decade of experience driving strategic decisions at the intersection of finance and public policy. At Candide, she is responsible for impact investment strategies across various asset classes and stages, all in service of creating a more equitable economy. Prior to Candide, Karla ran due diligence on marquee technology transactions in J.P. Morgan’s Technology coverage group in the Investment Banking division. Karla also has extensive exposure to philanthropic and racial justice work, advising organizations such as the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative and LinkedIn’s Global Impact team.
Karla received her MBA/MPP from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Harvard Kennedy School, respectively. She is a proud formerly undocumented immigrant and the daughter of a Mexican migrant farmworker. A longstanding equity advocate, her experience includes leading the Junior Leadership Board of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) and serving on the Investment Committee of the Cap Table Coalition. For her contributions to marginalized communities and promising career trajectory, Karla has been identified as a Rising Star through the Most Powerful Latinas Summit hosted by the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).
In her free time, Karla likes to read long-form journalism pieces, roller skate around the Bay Area, and scope out the best taco in any city.
Director of Investments
Kim works to inspire, and be inspired by her work. After spending two decades at the intersections of community development and banking, she understands the urgent need of stewarding capital toward systems that uplift a society in which humanity, dignity and respect are valued.
Most recently, Kim managed an investment portfolio of $300M in affordable housing, venture capital, and private equity investments driven to benefit underinvested communities. Her vast corporate background includes experience in finance, communications, regulatory, compliance and governance. She has served many communities through non-profit and grassroots volunteer work, and has been the recipient of multiple awards for outstanding achievements. Kim is a graduate of the University of Utah and holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism.
Managing Director, Olamina Fund
Leslie has dedicated the last 15 years of her career working to change the systems that have been most extractive on social and natural ecosystems. The past 9 years, she has focused on identifying and advancing solutions to address the wealth disparities in economically marginalized communities. As the Managing Director of the Olamina Fund at Candide Group, Leslie works on shifting the power dynamics of traditional finance and increasing access to capital in communities across the U.S. that have experienced historic and intentional exclusion from our economy. In her last role as VP of Strategic Partnerships at Common Future (formerly BALLE), she brought together diverse stakeholders around racial equity and impact investing, equitable financing tools, democratic governance and financial structures, integrated entrepreneurial ecosystems, and shared ownership of land, housing, and business.
Leslie has training in facilitative leadership for social change, strategic planning, and sustainable building. She has proudly served on executive committees for multiple boards, including New Economy Coalition, Oakland Grown, and The Green Chamber of Greater Phoenix, and currently serves on the board for RichmondLAND and Just Futures.
Portfolio Manager, Olamina Fund
Leticia is the proud daughter of immigrant farmworkers from Guanajuato, Mexico, and grew up in a small rural town in Fresno, CA. She is driven by pride in her family and Mexican culture alongside her embrace of innovation and sustainability. She is equally able to blend the cultural and regenerative practices of her rural heritage with social impact investment and business strategies to create a more equitable and just world.
She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her master’s degree from the University of San Diego. She has been selected to several prestigious fellowships and certificate programs, including most recently the Yale Center for Business and Environment’s Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program.
Leticia’s work has focused on solving complex environmental, economic, and social problems and co-creating innovative solutions. Most recently, Leticia served as the first Central California Regional Lead Advisor of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, a position she was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. During her term she led strategy development for the state of California’s small business ecosystem-building work, access to affordable capital and diverse entrepreneurship, and innovation portfolios, and created a model across California. In previous positions, she has worked alongside organic small-scale coffee producers and indigenous women's textile cooperatives in Mexico, designed policy strategies for investments in long-term water, renewable energy and clean energy projects in low-income rural communities as well as managed a multi-million-dollar social impact investment portfolio.
Client Services Manager
Mel is driven to holistically restore the balance and equity lost to extractive practices. Drawing on her experience in environmental management, finance, administration, and public policy, she’s inspired by the abundant opportunities for capital to enable transformative impact.
She has a BA in Public Affairs from CUNY Baruch College, an International Master’s in Environmental Management & Sustainability from James Madison University and University of Malta, and is published in Software Quality Professional. Her many research interests including social justice, the circular economy, innovative technology, business models that enhance sustainability, system dynamics, and natural sciences.
Founding Partner
Morgan has close to two decades of experience making finance a tool for social justice. In that time she has influenced over $150B and is a regularly sought out expert on impact investing. Her first book, Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change has been featured everywhere from Harvard Business School to the United Nations.
A serial social entrepreneur, prior to Candide Group she was the founding CEO of Toniic, a global impact investment network, co-founder of Transform Finance, a non-profit organization building a bridge between finance and social justice, and also founding ED of the Responsible Endowments Coalition, educating and organizing over 100 campuses across the country.
She received a B.A with High Honors in Economics and Political Science from Swarthmore College, and serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program at Middlebury College. More on Morgan at www.morgansimon.com.
Co-Managing Director, Climate Justice Fund
Neal has spent his career financing and developing climate-friendly infrastructure, both in the US and emerging markets. He is currently a managing director for Lattice Impact Capital, a sustainable infrastructure private equity fund, in addition to his role as co-managing director of the Climate Justice Fund.
As the former head of finance for BrightFarms, he raised more than $80m in equity and debt and pioneered “Produce Purchase Agreements” with blue-chip retailers such as Kroger, Giant, and Walmart. Prior to BrightFarms, Neal served as Vice President of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley and as a senior policy advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where he launched an award-winning financing intermediary to scale building energy efficiency improvements.
He has also structured and financed large-scale infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Neal has a BA (magna cum laude) from Brown University and received a Master’s in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard University.
Portfolio Operations Manager
Olga brings extensive experience in investment operations to Candide Group. Prior to joining the team, Olga was an Investment Operations Manager for financial technology companies for over 10 years, where she was responsible for building the company’s strategy, financial and operations functions.
She has been instrumental in creating investment operations architectures for several companies across her leadership tenure. She oversaw multiple successful product launches and has seen significant sales increases thanks to client services initiatives.
Olga has a Master of Science in Finance from Golden Gate University and currently attending Harvard for a degree in Project Management.
Managing Director
Patricia has spent her career honing her operations and finance skills at non-profits, clean-tech start-ups, and grass-roots community-based arts organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York. Most recently she was the VP of Finance and Administration at Common Future whose vision is to support a network of leaders and funders who focus on tackling issues such wealth inequalities in communities, systemic racism, and are committed to shifting capital to communities using direct investments methods that will create a more inclusive economy.
Earlier in her career, Patricia was a professional dancer and toured across the United States, Europe, and Asia with many amazing cutting edge dance companies and choreographers. She graduated from the Juilliard School of Music, holds a Certificate of Human Resources Management from Cal State East Bay, and is a SHRM-CP certified professional.
Digital Communications Manager
Starkey is a passionate storyteller. They love to work with, understand, and elevate subjects. Starkey graduated from University of Minnesota Twin Cities with a B.A. in Political Science a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary.
Across ten years, Starkey highlighted the stories of activists and survivors across a myriad of intersections. Their work has been featured in publications like WIRED and Rolling Stone.