FSI’s team brings strong technical and strategic competencies to deliver innovative solutions and tangible impacts.

Meet the Team

August Scherer

PRESIDENT

  • August founded FSI to address the immediate needs of small, medium and large corporations to execute strategic initiatives. At FSI, he holds a variety of responsibilities, including leading Finance & Strategy engagements, supporting Sustainability engagements, and building client and external partner relationships.

    Previously, August served as the Chief Financial Officer and Head the ESG Committee of Impact Selector, a global net zero technology company focused on developing innovations that lower cost, improve safety, and reduce emissions for oil and gas service companies and operators. Prior to Impact Selector, August spent several years on the investment team of Turnbridge Capital, a middle-market private equity fund and began his career in the investment banking division of Piper Sandler (formerly Simmons & Company International) offering M&A advisory, capital markets execution and investment research across the energy industry.

    August holds an MBA, BBA in Finance, and Bachelor in Economics with Financial Application from Southern Methodist University.

Lee Ballin

PARTNER & HEAD OF ESG ADVISORY

  • Lee brings over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of sustainability, business and finance. He is an expert on reporting, disclosure and sustainability strategy, as well as a thought leader and highly sought after speaker on a wide range of sustainability topics. At FSI, Lee leads the firm’s ESG Advisory Solutions where he crafts and implements sustainability strategies for clients, while helping them navigate the ever-changing ESG regulatory landscape and voluntary disclosure frameworks. As a former practitioner, Lee understands the challenges that companies face from a reporting and program management perspective and takes a pragmatic approach that helps them achieve their sustainability goals and objectives.

    Lee began his sustainability career at Bloomberg, where he was a founding member of the Bloomberg Sustainable Business & Finance group. The group was the driving force behind integrating sustainability considerations into the firm’s operations globally and developing strategies to integrate ESG, climate and other sustainability considerations into the Bloomberg Terminal. Lee then transitioned to BloombergNEF providing research and data to help companies, investors and policy-makers navigate the shift to a lower carbon economy. Most recently, Lee served as Managing Director at Deloitte providing ESG consulting and ESG reporting services.

    He has served in multiple roles as a faculty member at New York University, both as an adjunct professor and advisor to the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. Lee holds a bachelor's degree in Business Logistics from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business.

Sarah Baker

ESG CONSULTANT

  • Sarah is a public policy expert with a strong knowledge of regulatory, compliance and sustainability frameworks bringing over 10 years of experience in financial services, insurance, technology and government relations. At FSI, Sarah focuses on ESG Solutions that help clients navigate regulatory obstacles, develop sustainability initiatives, implement CSR reporting and execute strategies that deliver positive impact.

    Sarah also serves as the CEO of the Consumer Credit Industry Association (CCIA), a resource and advocate for consumer asset & credit protection products & services. Previously, Sarah served as the Senior Public Affairs specialist for Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) where she led ESG strategy and reporting. Sarah has also worked at the American Bankers Association where she led lobbying and advocacy efforts and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) as the liaison between the Executive Office and Capitol Hill. Sarah began her career in Washington, D.C. covering a variety of public policy issues.

    Sarah holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & International Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

Alex Parkinson

ESG Reporting Specialist

  • Alex has more than 15 years of experience advising some of the world’s largest companies on ESG reporting and strategy. Alex previously served as a Senior Researcher for The Conference Board, specializing in corporate citizenship and philanthropy, and corporate communications. In this role, he was Executive Editor of the organization’s corporate citizenship and philanthropy, and marketing and communications publications. He is the author of more than ten publications focused on both corporate citizenship and corporate communications.

    Before joining The Conference Board, Alex worked as a senior consultant in London and New York for a boutique ESG communications and reporting agency. His clients included well-known brands in Europe and the USA.

Ethan Krohn

Sr. Associate - Sustainability & GHG Emissions

  • Ethan brings several years of experience in supporting client sustainability reporting programs and aligning with standards, regulations, and reporting frameworks such as the ESRS, GRI, SASB, ISSB, TCFD, ISS ESG, MSCI, CDP, and EcoVadis. In addition to analyzing complex quantitative and qualitative ESG data, Ethan has conducted extensive GHG emissions inventory work as well as limited assurance engagements of Scope 1, 2, & 3 GHG emissions data for private and public companies within the US and EU.

    Prior to joining FSI, Ethan worked within the Sustainability & ESG Services team at BDO USA and BDO Germany, and began his career at Soly (formerly enie.nl), a solar energy company based in the Netherlands. Ethan has a BBA in International Business from the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences.

Jeana Atkison

Graphic Designer

  • Jeana Atkison is a graphic design expert with over five years of professional experience in the publishing industry. She has primarily worked in the education sector creating award-winning materials for individuals and families as a designer and project manager. Her focus is to create engaging and professional designs true to the brand of her clients.

    In addition, Jeana works with non-profit organizations developing marketing materials and strategies. She has previously worked in the energy industry at the Idaho National Laboratory, and graduated with a BS in Psychology from Brigham Young University- Idaho.

Contributing Writer

Mallory Rutigliano

  • Mallory Rutigliano is a sustainability expert working on climate resiliency in New York. Mallory previously conducted sustainability research for BloombergNEF. While at BNEF, Mallory wrote research on sustainable finance, including analysis of financials' fossil fuel divestment commitments, global sustainable debt issuance, and ESG-enabling national laws and policies, among other topics.

    Mallory has a background in behavioral health research, having previously held a position at the NYU School of Medicine, and experience in the environmental and biological sciences with an emphasis on policy. Mallory earned her MPA from Columbia University in Environmental Science and Policy and her BA in Biology and Psychology from Dartmouth College.