Meet the Staff

Lisa Woll, CEO

Lisa Woll is CEO of the Social Investment Forum (SIF). Prior to SIF, Lisa was executive director of the International Women’s Media Foundation, an international organization seeking to strengthen the role of women in the news media around the world and to protect press freedom. Lisa has extensive experience in international and domestic social policy and has worked extensively around the globe on human rights issues, particularly children’s human rights. She was the director of the first international study to look at the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and directed the Washington, DC office of Save the Children, She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. She is also Board President of Women’s Voices for the Earth, a national environmental health organization based in Montana, and a Senior Fellow with the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) Civic Leadership program. She has written and spoken widely on human rights, human rights and development, as well as leadership.

She has also worked on a wide range of social policy issues in the United States, as executive director of Friends of Vista, as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Congress, and as a New York City Urban Fellow. Lisa is the founder of Suited for Change, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that provides professional clothing and ongoing career education to low-income women who have completed job training programs and are seeking employment. She was a founding board member and former president of the board of The Women's Alliance, a national membership organization of community organizations that increase the employability of low-income women. 

In 2001, Lisa was named a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine in recognition of her pioneering role with Suited for Change. She has received numerous other awards and has volunteered on numerous other nonprofit boards and commissions. Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in public policy and women’s studies from George Washington University. She spent 1990 – 1991 in Melbourne, Australia, as a Fulbright Fellow.

Fran Teplitz, Managing Director

Fran serves as the Managing Director of the Social Investment Forum.

Overseeing both the programmatic and membership aspects of the Social Investment Forum, her work includes program coordination and development in such areas as community investment, shareholder advocacy, and special projects for a more sustainable economy involving investors, businesses and consumers. She joined the Forum in June 2000.

Fran worked with Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund for seven years before joining the Forum and Co-op America. Peace Action, formerly SANE/Freeze, is the largest, U.S. grassroots organization dedicated to disarmament and economic justice. She now serves on the Board of Directors of the Peace Action Education Fund. Prior to Peace Action, she worked on U.S. policy toward Central America. She holds a Master’s Degree from the Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and earned her undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis in Political Science.

Todd Larsen, Media Director

Todd Larsen has served as the Social Investment Forum's Media Director since 1999. He handles media strategy, outreach, and the answering of reporter queries. Todd is also the Director of Corporate Responsibility Programs at Co-op America. Todd has an MA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Megan Nierman, Member Services & Administration Coordinator

Megan is the most recent addition to the Social Investment Forum staff as the new Member Services and Administration Coordinator. She graduated from American University with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Political Science and International Service. In 2006, she spent 6 months in Beijing, China working for Global Village, an organization focused on fighting the many environmental problems within the country. In addition to this experience, Megan has extensive experience with member and client services. She has worked in law firms and, most recently, in Senator Obama's office. She is excited to be working for the Social Investment Forum.

Prianjali Mascarenhas, Community Investing & Public Policy Program Manager

Prianjali Mascarenhas manages the Community Investing Program and Advocacy and Public Policy Working Group at the Social Investment Forum. Her background in urban planning and economic development, and passion for development issues has propelled her to work on access to credit and capital issues for low-income communities, global banking policy, affordable housing and infrastructure, and socially responsible investing issues in the US and abroad. Prior to joining SIF, she directed the Global Fair Banking Project at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) in Washington, DC. Originally from India, Prianjali has a BA from Bryn Mawr College, PA in Urban Studies & Economics and a Masters degree in Urban Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sylvia Panek, SRI Program Coordinator

Sylvia Panek graduated from Illinois State University with honors and obtained a dual Bachelor of Science degree in International Business and Marketing, with a Spanish minor. She worked at the Nonprofit Financial Center in Chicago, an organization focused on educating and assisting other non profit organizations to operate with security on limited budgets. After gaining a background in community development, Sylvia joined the Social Investment Forum in 2005 as a Division Assistant and recently transitioned to become Program Coordinator for the International Working Group and SIRAN.

Kristin Lang, Division Assistant

Kristin is the Division Assistant at the Social Investment Forum.  After graduating from the University of Virginia in 2006 with BAs in International Relations and German, she spent nine months working abroad in London and Dublin.  Her previous nonprofit experience includes internships with the Red Cross in Vienna, Austria and with Lynch’s Landing, an organization focused on downtown revitalization in her hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia.  Kristin is excited about the opportunity to gain experience in the areas of environmental and social justice and loves living in Washington, DC.