Amy M. O'Brien

Amy leads a 30+ member team accountable for creating a holistic RI vision, strategy, and unified framework across Nuveen and TIAA, partnering with internal stakeholders on overall governance and driving implementation in day-to-day business activities. The framework establishes the firm’s overall RI philosophy and guidelines for systematically incorporating RI disciplines in investment decisions, new product development, and other value-add capabilities for engaging with clients.

Amy is a member of the Nuveen Executive Management Team, Nuveen’s Global Investment Committee, and the TIAA Executive Operating Council. Throughout her nearly 30-year career in responsible investing, she has worked on a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact investing initiatives. Amy was included among the inaugural list of The 20 Most Influential People In ESG Investing by Barron’s Magazine, and in 2021 was awarded ESG Investment Manager of the Year by Women in Asset Management.

Prior to joining TIAA in 2005, she served as director of corporate social responsibility at the Pension Boards - United Church of Christ, where she developed and implemented socially responsible investment strategies. Previously, she was research manager at the Council on Economic Priorities, the non-profit research firm that pioneered the field of corporate social and environmental responsibility ratings for investors and consumers. From 1998-2001, Amy served as an Inaugural Steering Committee member of the Global Reporting Initiative and from 2011- 2015, served as a Board Member of the United States Social Investment Forum (USSIF). In 2008, Amy joined the Board of Directors of The Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute for Corporate Responsibility and served in this role until 2018. From 2011-2015, she served as a Steering Committee Member of the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings (GISR) and from 2014-2017, Amy served on the Principles for Responsible Investment’s (PRI’s) Reporting & Assessment Steering Committee.

Since 2018, Amy has served as a Strategy Group member for the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance. She is currently a member of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Finance Steering Committee. Amy graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Boston College and an M.S. in Environmental Management and Policy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.