C3 Fund Investment Oversight Committee

Brooke Lierman

Chair

Brooke Lierman is the 34th Comptroller of the state of Maryland and the first woman to be independently elected to one of our state’s constitutional offices. After running a strong, policy-focused and grassroots-led two-year campaign, she was elected with over 60% of the vote in November 2022. She is an attorney by training, practicing as a civil rights and disability rights lawyer for many years, and prior to her election as Comptroller, she served for 8 years a member of the House of Delegates representing part of Baltimore City. While in the House, she spent time in leadership roles on both the Appropriations Committee and the Environment and Transportation Committee. Additionally, she was the House Chair for the Joint Committee on Pensions, sat on the Joint Committee on Ending Homelessness, and founded the Maryland Transit Caucus. Brooke successfully passed landmark legislation to invest in and improve public transit and public schools; end suspension and expulsion of young students; fund evidence-based gun violence prevention programs; aid sex trafficking victims; close loopholes in affordable housing laws, and create the office of statewide broadband. As Comptroller, she is dedicated to creating a Maryland that is more equitable, more resilient, and more prosperous so that all Marylanders can reach their full potential. She and her husband and two school-age children live in Baltimore City.

Jimmy Rhee

Vice Chair

Jimmy Rhee’s public service spans international trade, economic development, and job creation. As Cabinet Secretary for Maryland Governor and Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Virginia Governor, he orchestrated trade missions, fostering collaborations with Asian leaders and launching economic development programs that fueled entrepreneurship.

In Maryland, Jimmy advised Governor Larry Hogan on small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses overseeing economic and procurement programs across 70 state agencies including universities and casinos. In Virginia, Jimmy promoted business growth and connected investments to energy and infrastructure projects, all while expanding local product exports.

Jimmy has over 20+ years of private sector entrepreneurial experience in change management and enterprise growth, including turnarounds in manufacturing and software companies by leveraging evolving macro factors (e.g., shifts in politics/policies, technology, demographics, etc.) for economic strength.

Currently, in partnership with the Livingston Group in Washington, D.C., Jimmy advises international companies and investment firms on the U.S. government and market, secures capital infusions, and facilitates middle-market M&A deals in energy, technology, and real estate sectors.

Jimmy earned degrees from Johns Hopkins University (MAS/MBA) and the University of Maryland (BS). He also studied law for two years, holds a professional certificate in sustainable energy from Stanford University Center for Development, and is a certified performance coach.

Elorm Addae-nuku

Committee Member

Elorm Addae-Nuku is a sustainable finance and climate investing executive with over 16 years of experience driving strategic financing and investments globally. He currently serves as Director, Climate Finance, at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), where he structures blended finance solutions to catalyze private investment into renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric mobility, and climate-resilient infrastructure across emerging markets.

Previously, Mr. Addae-Nuku was Managing Partner at NativeCap Ventures, where he helped build a venture studio with a focus on sustainable housing development and helped deploy capital into projects utilizing clean technologies and green building materials. He has also held senior finance roles at BlackIvy Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and General Electric.

Mr. Addae-Nuku holds an MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School, with a focus on Competitive Strategy and Finance. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Ghana.

Karin Berardo

Committee Member

Karin has worked to create enduring impact for the planet for over 30 years, from developing sustainable agriculture and forestry policy in the Brazilian Amazon, to expanding affordable housing in the US and Africa, and from leading renewable energy financing innovations on 5 continents to creating cutting edge natural capital finance solutions for sovereigns and entrepreneurs to protect and restore the world’s oceans, coral reefs and coastal communities.  Developing and financing projects that balance the needs of people, the environment and capital requires care and insight, and has been the cornerstone of her career.

In Karin’s asset management and development work, she has helped raise over $3 billion to finance natural capital solutions renewable energy, affordable housing and real estate, water, waste and food projects around the world.  This includes helping to establish the first commercial solar programs in Thailand, the Philippines, and Rwanda; and the first workforce housing financing facilities in South Africa, as well as working with investors and corporations to embed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into business planning, reporting, product offerings and investment criteria.  Karin realized this work with ABREN clients, and at The Nature Conservancy, Fannie Mae, Stumpf Energy, Exyte Energy, CleanPath Ventures, Fotowatio, MuniMae and Accenture.  She received her MBA, MPP and BA from the University of Chicago.

Watchen Bruce

Committee Member

Watchen Harris Bruce is the President and CEO of Baltimore Community Lending BCL), a nonprofit mission-based lender and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). BCL provides loans and technical assistance to small businesses and real estate developers in underserved and disadvantaged low-income communities in the Baltimore area.

Ms. Bruce has over thirty-five plus years of banking, development finance, small business lending, economic development, international development, renewal energy, training, technical assistance, and leadership development. She has extensive development finance experience, both nationally and internationally. Before joining BCL, she served as Managing Director/Chief of Party of a USAID-funded project “Investing for Business Expansion” (IBEX) project, access to finance, Economic Development, and a business development project in Liberia for five years. She also served as Deputy Managing Director/Chief of Party for another USAID-funded project “Liberia Agribusiness Development Activity (LADA)” for 3 years. On the national level, Ms. Bruce served as Vice President at several national banks in the U.S. including PNC Bank, Fleet Bank, and JPMorgan Chase, and Management Consultant for NeighborWorks America.

She is a graduate of Leadership Boston & Baltimore. She serves on the Maryland Community Development Network and Morning Star Baptist Church Five CDC boards. She is also a board member of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, a Board member of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board member and lastly, a member of Maryland Clean Energy Center’s C3 Fund Investment Oversight Committee.

Ms. Bruce is pursuing a doctorate in Organizational Development and leadership through Grand Canyon University, and she has completed all the requirements except the dissertation. She holds a master’s in business management from Cambridge College in Massachusetts, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Planning and Management from the University of Massachusetts, and a BA in French from the University of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.

She is a certified PNC Women in Business Lender and Certified Trainer and Coach with the Nehemiah Project International Ministries. Ms. Bruce was honored as one of the 100 Top Women Leaders in Baltimore by the Daily Record.

Ms. Bruce co-founded B’More Clubhouse in Baltimore, MD in 2009. This is a psychosocial rehabilitation program that offers employment, housing, and skills development for people with mental illness.

Cari Harris

Committee Member

Cari A. Harris is the founder of The CCT Foundation and The Butterfly Effect with a focus on economic development, stakeholder engagement, and project management. She is also co-founder of the HBCU Environmental Justice Technical Collaborative (HEJT Collaborative), a group of HBCU-affiliated technical experts invested in sustainability and environmental justice. Her commitment extends to operationalizing and evaluating DEI macroeconomic targets and metrics to increase equity.

Elias Hinckley, LL.M., J.D.

Committee Member

Elias Hinckley is a Partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He focuses his practice on assisting clients navigating a changing energy, tax, and financial landscape by efficiently and creatively structuring deals.

He incorporates tax, policy, and market insight to solve complex financing challenges for renewable energy companies, private equity, hedge funds, tax equity investors, real estate investors, independent power companies, and public utilities. He has been at the forefront of the development of several financing structures for the clean energy industry.

He has experience representing clients across energy sectors, including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, hydroelectric, batteries, fuel cells, energy efficiency, demand response, electric transmission, natural gas, and advanced coal.

Previously, Elias led the energy practice at another international law firm and was the Head of the Alternative Energy Practice for Deloitte USA for several years. He is also an Adjunct Professor of International Energy Policy and Markets at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Pamela Kelly

Committee Member

Pam Kelly has more than 25 years of experience in the public finance industry providing investment banking and advisory services to the government and not-for-profit sectors. She has significant experience evaluating and implementing financing plans structured with various funding and credit sources and has a particular interest in economic and community development initiatives. She has advised clients in the State of Maryland and nationally on tax-exempt and taxable financings utilizing general obligation and revenue bonds, appropriation and lease structures, tax credits, energy performance contracts, tax increment districts and community development authorities.

Ms. Kelly is a registered Municipal Advisor, serves on the board of the Maryland Women in Public Finance and is a member of Maryland Government Finance Officers Association, Maryland Economic Development Association and Maryland Association of Counties. She received her undergraduate degree from Towson University and lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.

James McDonnell

Committee Member

im McDonnell is the Chief Operating Officer of Avalon Energy Services, LLC.  In this role, Jim oversees the economic analysis, transaction structuring, and implementation of energy supply management, energy efficiency, and distributed energy resource projects.  He also works with clients developing energy-related commercial ventures.

Jim has extensive experience in the energy industry, having held senior-level positions in a variety of areas; he has worked in capacities including operations, consulting, finance, and planning.

Jim is a past president of the National Capital Area Chapter of the US Association for Energy Economics and a founding member of the Cornell Energy Systems Institute Advisory Council.  He earned a Bachelor of Science from the College of Engineering at Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Oklahoma State University.

Jim is passionate about expanding access to clean, reliable energy while protecting the environment, especially his beloved Chesapeake Bay, where he spends much of his leisure time.

Andrea Pelletier

Committee Member

Andrea Pelletier is Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking at Sandy Spring Bank. A graduate of the University of Marylad, Andrea has more than 20 years of banking experience, having successfully managed a multi-million dollar portfolio of business banking clients and is certified in Consumer and Commercial Lending.

Marissa Ramirez

Committee Member

Marissa Ramirez is the Senior Director of Strategy, Planning, and Operations for the Equity, Environment, and Justice Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council.  She believes that meaningful change happens locally. Marissa has worked with neighbors and local leaders primarily in underserved communities of color on revitalizing communities by providing best practices and tools for a more equitable and sustainable future. Fostering a collaborative basis for bringing community knowledge and strategic analysis is core to her work to meaningfully adapt to climate change and collectively design solutions that advance community priorities. She is a co-author of “4-Steps to a Climate Savvy Community,” which is designed for communities to find solutions to climate, health, and racial equity issues where they live. She is also author and co-author of “Green Neighborhoods: Advancing Strategies that Create Strong, Just, and Resilient Communities” and “The Sustainable Square Mile Handbook: Cultivate Your Green Village with Community-Based Principles and Practices.” She has led new research to uncover the links between climate change, displacement, and gentrification in U.S cities.

Marissa serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the Montgomery County Green Bank supporting residents and businesses in her community. She has a Master’s in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she focused on urban environmental economics.  She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Yale University.  Previously, Marissa was a scientist at the National Institute of Health and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and continues to bring both her passion for human and environmental health to her professional work in communities.