Akasha Absher Is a Consultant with Syntrinsic Investment Counsel In
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Akasha Absher is a Consultant with Syntrinsic Investment Counsel in Denver, CO, where she provides investment advice and strategic guidance to foundations, public charities, and philanthropic private clients. Syntrinsic Investment Counsel is a boutique investment consulting firm with $1.1billion in assets under advisement and clients located across the United States. Akasha serves a Lead Consultant on client relationships while also interfacing with the firm’s Consulting and Research Group to develop and deliver allocation and investment manager recommendations. Akasha joined Syntrinsic in October 2013 as an Associate Consultant and was promoted to Consultant in April 2014. She also serves as a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining Syntrinsic in 2013, Akasha worked for several years in New York as an analyst, trader, and portfolio manager at Caxton Associates and its affiliate Lucidus Capital Partners. At Lucidus, Akasha actively managed and traded US$100mn of long/short capital across the spectrum of the credit markets, from high yield to investment grade. Prior, Akasha was Vice President and senior publishing analyst in high yield debt research at JPMorgan. Akasha has had extensive community involvement in New York and Colorado. While in New York she served as the Board Chair and President of The Phoenix Foundation and on the Board of Graham Windham. She currently is serving as a Board Member of Florence Crittenton Services of Colorado, a Co-Chair of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado Power of Extended Philanthropy Club, and is a mentor with Minds Matter Denver. Akasha attended Clark Atlanta University and graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. In 2003, Akasha earned her MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business where she was a JPMorgan Women’s fellow and a Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Scholar. She is a graduate of the Denver Metro Chamber’s Leadership Foundation, Leadership Denver Class of 2015. Akasha and her husband, Kelly, moved to Colorado in 2013 from New York City to enjoy their family and the mountains. When not spending time with family, Akasha can be found practicing yoga and is a certified instructor. Additionally, Akasha and Kelly enjoy hiking, reading, and traveling both domestic and abroad. Jason Armijo is a senior at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. He majors in English licensing in Secondary, Special Education and Cultural Linguistically Diverse Education (CLD) with an endorsement in linguistics. He attended Arrupe Jesuit High School, which is a part of the Cristo Rey network, started in Chicago. Jason enjoys bouldering, playing ultimate frisbee, basketball, and reading. His favorite book is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Steven C. Bachar Steve is a member of the firm’s Business Section and its impact investing group. He works Sections with corporations and their executives to execute transactions and solve problems at the Business intersection of law, public policy and commerce. He has significant experience as an outside general counsel for businesses. Steve is a respected advisor to businesses, nonprofit Areas of concentration organizations and government and political leaders, including serving as co-chair of the Impact investing Clinton Global Initiative America meeting held in Denver in 2014 and June, 2015. Securities and capital markets Bachar’s impact sector activities include co-founding Empowerment Capital Management, Education and credentials which provides advisory services in the sector (www.empowermentcap.com); serving on the Georgetown University J.D. Global Advisory Board of New York-based Cornerstone Capital Management, a leader in Emory University B.A. sustainable investing and finance; and service as a board member of Windhorse, Inc., which Affiliations owns a for-profit company providing clean drinking water to 200,000 “base of the pyramid” Clinton Global Initiative customers in rural eastern India. Colorado Cleantech Industry Association Bachar was formerly Chairman of the Public Policy practice group at another Denver firm, Founding Board member, Colorado prior to which he led a clean technology company which won the National Renewable Advanced Manufacturing Alliance Energy Laboratory's Best Venture Award. He has been executive vice president of a Rocky Advisor, Blackstone Mountain-focused private equity firm and has managed numerous complex business Entrepreneurs Network transactions in China, Canada and Europe. Bachar is a founding board member of the Member, Colorado Africa School Assistance Project, which works with rural communities in Tanzania to build or Advisory Committee, expand public schools. US Global Leadership Coalition Denver Metro Chamber Public Bachar serves on the Public Policy Council for the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, Affairs Council the Public Affairs Committee of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and he was a Founding Board member, Africa founding board member of the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Alliance. He has served School Assistance Project Past Board Chairman, Children;s on numerous non-profit boards in Colorado, including the Children’s Museum of Denver and Museum of Denver Opera Colorado. Past Executive Committee member, Bachar previously served as Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s campaign and Opera Colorado Past Board member, Mile High Child transition counsel during the Governor's successful mayoral campaign, and he has served Care as a legal and business advisor to numerous other political figures throughout his career. Before relocating to Denver, Bachar’s Washington, D.C. career included service in the White Admitted Colorado House and the US Department of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton. He is a former Army reservist, a certified Wilderness First Responder and an active outdoorsman. He sings bluegrass and plays the mandolin with more enthusiasm than talent. Honors & Awards . Recognized in 2004 by the Denver Business Journal as one of its “Forty Under 40” business leaders . Leadership Denver, class of 2002 Moye|WhiteLLP Attorneys at Law 16 Market Square 6th Floor 1400 16th Street Denver CO 80202-1486 tel 303 292 2900 fax 303 292 4510 www.moyewhite.com Angela P. Baier Chief Executive Officer CollegeInvest & College Assist Since 2009, Baier has been responsible for managing Colorado’s 529 College Savings program representing over $6.5 billion in assets under management and more than 350,000 families. In 2012, she was named CEO of CollegeInvest and of College Assist, a federal student loan Guaranty Agency representing over $9 billion in student loans. Baier brings over 25 years of senior level management, business development, brand development, and marketing expertise to her position. Baier’s diverse career consists of 20 years in nonprofit leadership, including serving as CEO of The New York State Zoo and as a Vice President at the Denver Zoo. She served as a Hickenlooper Mayoral Appointee for the City & County of Denver – leading the first-ever city branding effort, was the youngest department head in Best Western’s Corporate history, led the nation’s largest retail sponsorship program at Cherry Creek Shopping Center, was a national nonprofit liaison for the Walt Disney Company, and has been host of her own TV and radio shows – appearing with live animals. Baier is very active in the Metro-Denver community, serving on the Mayoral transition teams for both Mayor Hickenlooper and Mayor Hancock, and has served on a number of non-profit boards. Baier earned her B.S. from the University of Kansas. Dave Baker President FirstBank Dave currently serves as the President of FirstBank. Founded in 1963, FirstBank is the second largest financial institution in Colorado with over $14 billion in assets and 2,100 employees. FirstBank operates over 100 locations in Colorado, along with 15 in Arizona and five in California. During his 33 year career at FirstBank, Dave has served in a variety of positions. Dave was elected Executive Vice President of FirstBank Holding Company in 1999 and then Chief Operating Officer in 2005. He was named President of FirstBank in 2010 and continues to serve as Chief Operating Officer and a Director of FirstBank Holding Company. In addition to his work at FirstBank, Dave is active in the community. He is on the board of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Mile High United Way, Denver Public Schools Foundation and Mountain States Employees Council. Dave also serves as a Trustee for the University of Colorado Foundation, chairs the University of Colorado Chancellor’s Development Committee and is a member of the University of Colorado Denver Business School Advisory Board. Previously, Dave has chaired Rocky Mountain Junior Achievement, the Colorado Bankers Association, and the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado. Dave earned a degree in business from the University of Colorado Denver and a graduate degree from Pacific Coast Banking School. Justin W. Ball Justin Ball is president and founder of Bespoke Event Group. Foundation and the Rocky Bespoke is a global communications and experiential marketing Mountain Arts Association, firm focused on full-service meeting, incentive and event where he performed management. Bespoke brings together the highest quality multiple times with the professionals, products and ideas in our four key areas of Colorado Symphony service: logistics management, Orchestra. Justin is a avant-garde creative, spectacle production and dynamic graduate of the inaugural communications. Our vast