About Jenna Nicholas

Jenna Nicholas is an investor, entrepreneur, advisor, coach and speaker. 

She is the President of Enlightened Bottomline, an investment and advisory firm. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Impact Experience which is focused on addressing equity across climate, healthcare, education and investments. Jenna is also the Investment Partner of One Planet Group and previously led Corporate Development for One Planet Group which incubates, operates and invests in businesses. 

Jenna is also an active angel investor and has invested in over three unicorns including Lyft, Virta Health and Esusu. Jenna has worked with the World Bank Treasury on green bonds and other sustainability projects and with Toniic helping to support an impact investing community. She has worked closely with the Calvert Special Equities team, actively investing in companies and funds in the areas of education technology, financial inclusion, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. She previously led Divest-Invest Philanthropy, a coalition of foundations shifting capital from investments in fossil fuels and reinvesting in new economy solutions. Jenna spoke at TedX Portland about this work. She is an advisor to the Nexus Global Youth Summit and Ethic, an online impact investing platform. 

Jenna graduated from Stanford University with an International Relations Honors Degree during which time she also read International Development at Oxford University. Jenna is a Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA graduate, a PD Soros Fellow for New Americans, recipient of the Stanford Social Innovation Fellowship, an Echoing Green Fellow, Forbes 30 under 30 for Social Entrepreneurship, a Summit fellow, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a coach for the Roddenberry Foundation and a Young Leaders Council member of Milken Institute. She has also served on the Investment Committee of the Wayfarer Foundation. Jenna also served on the Impact Advisory Committee for Apollo Global Management. Jenna co-taught a course at Tsinghua School of Economics and Management in Beijing, China on Business Ethics, Sustainability, and Impact Investing. Jenna also co-chaired the Emerging Leaders Council of LISC, a community development finance institution that has invested over $1.5 billion into community development projects. Jenna is the Vice President of Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs, a community of over 1500 entrepreneurs and investors. She is an active member of the Bahá’í Faith.

Education

  • BA in International Relations, Stanford University
  • MBA in Impact Investing, Stanford University

Professional Fields

Work History

  • President, Enlightened Bottomline
  • Investment Partner, One Planet Group
  • CEO and Co-Founder, Impact Experience
  • Consultant: Evaluation on partnership between Nike and the China Youth Development Foundation, Business for Social Responsibility
  • Consultant on green bonds and development impact bonds, World Bank Treasury
  • Associate, Calvert Special Equities
  • Project Manager, Divest-Invest Philanthropy
  • Fellow, GuideStar
  • Fellow, Toniic Institute
  • CEO, Phoenix Global Impact

Milestones and Recognition

  • 2018 Climate Fellow
  • World Economic Forum’s Young Global Shaper
  • Fortress Investment Group Tactical Stock-Trading Award - First prize for stock-investing competition.
  • Yale University: 25 under 25 in US–China Relations - Recognition for work done in China in Impact Investing
  • Impact Investing: New Enterprises and Collaborations: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/impact_investing_new_enterprises_and_collaborations
  • SOCAP Interview: http://socialcapitalmarkets.net/2015/11/25/socap-conversations-jenna-nicholas-on-divest-invest-in-2015/
  • Toniic Blog posts: http://www.toniic.com/category/blog-posts/
  • Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in the Future: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/divesting_from_fossil_fuels_investing_in_the_future
  • Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree

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