TOOLS
Login to access your documents and resources.
Alexandra Cooley
Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer, Nuveen Green Capital
About Alexandra Cooley
Alexandra “Ali” Cooley is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Nuveen Green Capital. Ali co-founded Nuveen Green Capital (formerly Greenworks Lending) in 2015 and has served as CIO, COO, and CFO from its inception through its acquisition by Nuveen in April 2021. Under Ali's leadership, the organization has achieved exceptional growth: expanding from one state to over 40 states, scaling from zero to nearly 700 individual assets, growing the team from two to nearly 100 professionals, and raising over $4 billion in assets under management.
Prior to co-founding Greenworks, Ali oversaw and managed the development of over $100 million in innovative financial products to deploy clean energy by leveraging private capital at the Connecticut Green Bank, the nation’s first green bank.
Ali has received numerous awards for her entrepreneurship and for her work scaling C-PACE from a small handful of state-level programs to an institutional asset class. In 2024, Ali was named a “Notable Leader in Finance” by Crain’s New York, as well as a GlobeSt. “Woman of Influence” in the Finance category. In addition, she received the prestigious Pensions and Investments “Influential Women in Institutional Investing” award. She was also named a “One to Watch” in the NYREJ (New York Real Estate Journal) 2023 Leader Spotlight. Additionally, Ali and Nuveen Green Capital co-founder, Jessica Bailey were jointly recognized for “CRE’s Best Bosses” by GlobeSt. in 2023, as well as “50 Most Important Figures of Commercial Real Estate Finance” by Commercial Observer in 2022, 2o24 and 2025. Ali was named to CRE Finance Council’s “20 Under 40” in 2022. In 2021, as CIO, Ali oversaw Nuveen Green Capital’s first 144A bond issuance (CPACE 2021-1), which was awarded GlobalCapital’s Esoteric ABS Deal of the Year.
Ali graduated with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA/MEM from Yale University. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Center for Business and Environment at Yale and is a member of the YPO Manhattan Chapter.
