Team
Our team has navigated uncertainty across sectors and systems, giving us the practical knowledge to help partners chart new paths where no playbook exists.
We will draw upon our collective to create bespoke project teams that are uniquely qualified to tackle client requirements.
Core Team
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Founder, Partner
Sean is Founder and Partner at SidePorch, which continues a career of working to create environments where amazing people can do extraordinary things. Previously, was a founding partner at Liminal Collective, a human performance company launched by Logitech. Sean served as CEO & Portfolio Manager for Estabrook Investors, a global, multi-strategy fund of funds focused on absolute return. He also held executive positions at the Jeff Skoll Group, and at the MacArthur Foundation. Sean taught for over a decade at the university and secondary levels, holding leadership positions and carrying out research focused on economic and urban development. Sean holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (UNC-Chapel Hill) and master’s degrees in International Development Policy (Duke University) and Interdisciplinary Education (Santa Clara University).
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Alex is serial founder and operator of growth stage, impact-oriented digital and services ventures. He has built and delivered solutions to address challenges in climate & environment, housing and urban development, mobility, healthcare, and other high-stakes domains. Most recently, he was Partner at a specialized innovation and strategy consulting firm. There, he advised "climatetech", energy, and mobility businesses (digital and hardware) on product development and scale via public sector go-to-market, pilot programs, as well as public-private partnerships. Prior to consulting, Alex spent 12 years as a founder and senior executive leading venture-backed B2B and B2G enterprise technology companies. Early in his career he developed advanced forensic data applications in the intelligence community. He holds a BA from University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Project Examples:
Drafted and passed enabling legislation for major US city to use AI technology to enforce zero-emission transportation policy
Built public sector go-to-market roadmap and customer engagement plan for a multi-national logistics solution firm
Developed the impact framework and empirical metrics for a multi-city freight decarbonization pilot program
Designed the capitalization strategy and prepared investor materials to support fundraising for a blended capital infrastructure investment fund
Built enterprise technology solutions to enable state and local government to effectively managed distressed housing and real estate in the wake of the foreclosure crisis
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Allan handled over $100 billion of energy and infrastructure transactions around the world for more than 30 years as a senior partner at a Wall St. law firm. He provides high-level advice on corporate strategy, risk management, capital formation, cross-border investment and sustainability to major multinational corporations, fund managers and financial institutions. His experience encompasses project finance and development, private equity, international transactions, mergers and acquisitions, acquisition finance, capital markets, private placements, energy markets and technology, construction, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, derivatives, banking and regulatory matters.
He holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.
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Andy builds on the experiences and insights captured from supporting a wide variety of organizations and complex systems to create positive impact for people, communities, organizations, and companies. Previous to this role, Andy worked for various non-profits, foundations, and corporations on wellness and mental health initiatives, inclusive technology development, go-to-market strategies for consumer products, the translation between research, services, and impact, and other purpose-driven projects to drive change. They have also founded a mental health start-up and briefly played professional soccer. They hold an Ed.M in Human Development and Psychology (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and a B.A. in Psychology (Georgetown University). They currently live in northeast Los Angeles with their wife, child, and fluffy cattle dog.
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Ellah Ronen is a seasoned nonprofit strategist and cross-sector leader with over a decade of experience developing strategic plans and sustainability initiatives for mission-driven organizations. She brings deep expertise in systems change, philanthropic strategy, and capacity building—grounded in a career working across foundations, public agencies, and nonprofits.
Ellah's consulting practice is focused on strategic planning, public-private partnerships, and nonprofit sustainability. She actively supports multi-stakeholder planning efforts with the Inland Empire Community Foundation and the LA County Office of Food Systems, where she is helping shape long-term strategies to advance regional equity, resilience, and local leadership.
Previously, as Senior Program Officer at the California Community Foundation, Ellah directed a $20 million COVID-era food security initiative and co-chaired the LA County Food Equity Roundtable, helping to launch the LA County Office of Food Systems. She also led the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative, supporting hundreds of nonprofits with strategic restructuring, financial planning, and scenario modeling.
At the Annenberg Foundation, Ellah led LA n Sync, a nationally recognized public-private program that helped secure over $180 million in competitive public and philanthropic funding for Los Angeles-based projects. Her work focused on aligning funders, nonprofits, and government partners around shared goals and leveraging collaboration to tackle complex community challenges.
Ellah serves as a Board Member at the Center for Nonprofit Management Southern California, where she contributes her strategic planning expertise to strengthen the region’s nonprofit infrastructure. Her governance work supports CNM’s mission to build leadership and sustainability across the nonprofit sector.
She holds an MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BA from UC Santa Barbara. She also serves as Secretary of the Board for the LA Community Gardens Council, reinforcing her commitment to community-led change, equity, and sustainable systems.
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Iván is a c-suite operator, investor and advisor with over 20 years of experience in Technology businesses, driving meaningful growth in diverse situations. He has a proven track record of transforming businesses and divisions into high-performance global organizations through a mission-driven, customer-centric approach. He has worked extensively with private and non-profit and boards where his contributions have included supporting growth strategies, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising and strategic partnership development.
Iván received his MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and holds an MS in Finance and a BA in Business from Universidad de San Andrés (Argentina).́ He lives in California with his family and enjoys traveling, hiking, and DJing which was his first venture as a teenager in Argentina.
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Force Multiplier
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Throughout my 20+ year journey, I have worked with extraordinary people – from neuroscientists at NIH, healthcare workers in Nepal, and indigenous communities in Colombia, to the entrepreneurs and fund managers I support today. These diverse experiences provide a unique lens through which I analyze and assimilate information.
I solve complex problems with rigor and creativity, taking ideas from concept to execution for impactful startups and global institutions. My work ranges from helping founders build and finance early-stage companies to working with governments and corporates to design and execute innovation programs, financing strategies, and catalytic funding instruments.
Achievements that I am proud of:
• Transformed USAID's operating model and designed its first 7-year global blended finance instrument, INVEST, that mobilized $1.5B of private investment into the SDGs with $195M in catalytic capital, supporting transaction advisors and fund managers like Endeavor South Africa, Women's World Banking, Third Way Impact Partners, and Pomona Impact. Prototype has been replicated to deploy over $1B in catalytic capital across the Agency.
• Structured, rated, and closed $47M in U.S. Treasury-backed loan guarantees with commercial banks to extend lending to SMEs. Partnered with a commercial bank and private investors to deploy cash-flow based loans to women-owned small and growing businesses in Nicaragua (Variable Payment Obligation Program). Program was replicated in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Colombia.
• Led Grand Challenges for Development and designed Conservation X Labs open innovation initiatives, providing early funding to cleantech entrepreneurs like NFW, Werewool, Mango Materials, Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies, Sistema Bio, Husk Power, and Jain Irrigation. Raised $50M+ from corporates, governments, and foundations.
• Mobilized $300M in sustainable agriculture and workforce development partnerships in Colombia with corporates (e.g. Exito, Carrefour, Cementos Argos, Casa Luker, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros).
• Served as Senior Partnerships Advisor to Secretary of State Clinton. Defined, shaped, and mobilized resources into the impact economy.
• Built on this entrepreneurial drive to co-found climate tech venture builder Green Swan Partners and establish the DAI Magister Academy to provide transaction advisory services to pre-series A cleantech and fintech companies in Africa and Europe (e.g. Innovopro, Omnibiz, Wyzetalk, Finclusion, Releaf).
I am fluent in Spanish and Urdu and have working knowledge of French. -
Neal is a lawyer and executive who guides global companies, investors, founders, and government leaders through complex regulatory landscapes and high-stakes strategic decisions.
At GE, he helped lead the company’s regulatory and environmental policy functions for $100B+ in business units spanning energy, aviation, and healthcare. He led enterprise-wide engagement in federal rulemakings, secured outcomes that unlocked $30B+ in new market opportunity, and reduced compliance costs—translating complex regulation into competitive advantage.
At Galvanize, he built the firm’s policy function. Supporting a $1B+ venture capital, public equity, and real estate investment platform, he positioned portfolio companies to benefit from rapidly evolving policy incentives and shape regulatory debates in key markets.
At the White House, he led Cabinet-level initiatives that improved federal permitting for energy infrastructure, accelerating renewable deployment and transmission projects nationwide. He was a principal architect of an executive order directing 10+ agencies to significantly reduce timelines and increase accountability for major energy infrastructure.
At the Department of the Interior, he worked with industry, state and local partners to secure the approval of 10+ GW of solar, wind, and geothermal projects on public lands. He also helped build the first-ever Atlantic offshore wind regulatory framework and respond to the Deepwater Horizon crisis. For the Governor of Colorado, he led a team that developed and implemented a broad suite of energy policy and legislative priorities.
Neal is a Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute, where he convenes senior corporate leaders, investors, and policymakers on critical issues at the intersection of business and society. He serves on the boards of several clean energy and environmental organizations, contributing governance, fundraising, and strategy expertise.
He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Brown University.
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As a business attorney, I help my clients buy and sell companies, make strategic investments, arrange financing, and operate profitably. I am the founder of the firm’s Advanced Energy Group which provides full-service representation for renewable and next-generation energy producers, developers, and consumers; advises clients regarding facilities and business development; assists with corporate and finance matters; advises on development and construction issues; and assists with risk management and regulatory compliance strategies.
As a strategic partner and advisor, I help my clients discern opportunities and make connections that add value to their businesses. Together we focus on key issues such as matching legal structures with business goals, negotiating and drafting complex agreements, and resolving the complexities of extraordinary business dealings and long-term strategies.
I am the founder of Estabrook Investors LLLP, a fund of global, multi-strategy hedge funds, and I serve on the advisory boards and LPAC committees of several investment funds.
Advisors & Consultants
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Andrea brings a unique perspective to leading change across sectors drawing from leadership roles in start-up organizations, established organizations, and in philanthropic organizations supporting system transformation. For over 25 years, she has designed and led new initiatives with government, philanthropy, nonprofits, and corporations. She currently serves as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and Director at Frontline Solutions. She is the founder and CEO of Foggy-Paxton Consulting, LLC, a firm focused on supporting organizations to accelerate their impact through strategic advising, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and building organization capacity with an emphasis on increasing programmatic impact, diversifying revenue, and supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts.
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Dave partners with organizations to turn strategic goals into workable plans. He has a background in systems engineering and focuses on helping teams build the practical tools - like clear decision-making frameworks and actionable roadmaps - that connect a big-picture vision to daily work. On this project, he will support the team by focusing on the design of the 'Initiative Scorecard' and 'Decision-Making Playbook', ensuring the final plan is as practical as it is inspiring. Dave Baiocchi brings nearly 20 years of experience helping organizations navigate complex challenges and plan for the future. His work is informed by a decade at the RAND Corporation, where he helped clients with long-range strategic planning and analysis, and by his work in private practice as a strategy and innovation consultant since 2018. This background, combined with his earlier engineering work at Sandia National Laboratories, gives him a grounded perspective on turning ambitious goals into achievable, step-by-step plans. He is a founding partner at Spark & Compass and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.
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After a series of start-up experiences in both for-profit and for-purpose arenas, I am passionate about helping organizations and individuals fully express their potential to focus on positive social change. I believe that this potential will be energized by strengthening our understanding of ourselves through our connections to one another. I coach, consult and facilitate conversations to help people see themselves. More than anything I care about using education to expand opportunities. So I relish my roles as both a student and a facilitator of learning.
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International business executive with a proven ability to navigate and produce results in a dynamic environment. Strong strategic, networking, negotiation, project management, communication and presentation skills. Extensive leadership of corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy, program development and initiative implementation complemented by experience in senior accounting, finance and strategic planning roles.
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Experienced executive with a demonstrated history of leadership, deal-making and project management for high-level for-profit and non-profit organizations. Responsible for many high-impact communications and media projects, highly effective fundraiser, and known for high-leverage partnerships. Founder of successful non-profit and for-profit organizations and initiatives, experienced board member, published author and public speaker.
