Meet Our Team

As Communications and Marketing Manager at SAI, Alex Ducett develops and implements communications and marketing strategies and promotes SAI’s services and programs. She also supports media relations, fundraising, and donor management. Alex worked previously as coordinator and communications assistant at NYU Division of Libraries for their five-year strategic planning process and has supported communications in education- and human rights-focused nonprofits, Every Hour Counts and U.S. Campaign for Burma. Alex has a Master of Public Administration degree from NYU Wagner School of Public Service where she focused her research on human rights in the global value chain. She has a bachelor’s degree from The University of Chicago in East Asian Languages & Civilizations with a minor in Human Rights.

Christie Daly is the Director of SAI's Corporate Programs. Christie manages service delivery to SAI’s corporate members, including Social Fingerprint evaluations, supplier and supply-chain management training, and multi-stakeholder panels. She is also responsible for developing capacity building programs for other corporate partners. Before joining SAI, Christie worked as a Project Associate with the New York City Department of Education in the Office of Public and Community Affairs. She has previously conducted research for the NYU School of Law, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice on a wide range of business and human rights issues. Daly holds a master’s degree from New York University Center for Global Affairs with a concentration in Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance. She received her bachelor’s degree from Skidmore College.

As a Program Fellow at SAI, Hannah Crane supports research, writing, data analysis, and project management across all departments and programs. Before joining SAI, Hannah was a research scholar and founding member of the Institute for Executive Education at NYU School of Law, where she delivered educational programming, implemented strategic marketing plans, and managed client relationships for the Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy program. She has previous experience in leadership development and administration in higher education and as a contributor to the Huffington Post. Hannah has an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, a BA in Anthropology from NYU and previous coursework in Gender Politics at NYU.

Jane Hwang serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of SAI. Working with the Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and staff she oversees the organization's strategy, management, and stakeholder engagement. Since joining SAI in 2005, Jane has led significant growth and innovation of SAI’s programs, especially in corporate advisory services, training and capacity building, and public-private partnerships. Jane co-created Social Fingerprint® and TenSquared—both highly effective and popular programs to measure and improve management systems, worker engagement, and social performance. She has co-authored implementation guides and served on working groups for international agencies, such as the United Nations, The World Bank's International Finance Corporation, and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Prior to joining SAI, Jane worked in corporate marketing and legal research, and has previous experience in behavioral sciences and medical research. She earned her bachelor's degree and MBA from Columbia University.

John Brookes serves as the Executive Director of Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). SAAS is a division of SAI that is responsible for monitoring and assessing auditing companies that themselves evaluate conformity to social codes and standards, including accrediting SA8000 certification bodies. John has years of experience as a management systems and accreditation specialist focused on voluntary conformity assessment and consensus standards in the field of social certification, accreditation, and monitoring. He has consulted on quality, environmental, and health and safety management systems, as well as training, auditing, and operational leadership services. John has previously held operational, business development, and quality management positions at SGS and AIG. He also ran his own professional services business and contributed to the development of the ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Program for Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001). During this time, John also provided various pro-bono governance, audit, and paid consultative services to both SAAS and SAI, including contributions during the development and launch of the first SA8000 Standard in 1998. Earlier in his career, John held positions as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer, Quality Engineer, Quality Consultant, and IRCA-certified ISO 9001 Lead Auditor.

John Georgantas brings to SAI 25 years of experience in senior management, strategic planning, global finance, financial analysis, and human resources. Before joining SAI, he was managing director at Roc Global Securities, an investment bank specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisition and private equity capital advisory services. Previously, John was a partner at Lydian Asset Management LP, an international convertible and credit arbitrage fund. He headed the firm’s philanthropic efforts, with grantees including Memorial Sloan Kettering and Tulane University. He has also held senior publishing analyst and management roles at Morgan Stanley and Kidder, Peabody & Co. John has served on the boards of the McGivney Community Center and the Ensemble for the Romantic Century. In 2015, the Robin Hood Foundation selected him to participate in the inaugural cohort of LeaderLink, its non-profit financial leadership program. John holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is fluent in Greek.

Lisa Bernstein serves as a Senior Manager for SA8000 with Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). She is responsible for the accreditation and oversight of certification bodies that are authorized to deliver audits for the SA8000® Standard. Lisa has deep experience in the field of accreditation and certification, having worked for SAAS and SAI since 2001. She manages policy and procedure creation for certification body accreditation and social auditing, and oversees the evaluation and assessment of accredited and applicant certification bodies. Previously, Lisa coordinated special projects, communication, and fundraising at SAI. Before joining SAI and SAAS, Lisa was a Registered Representative and Administrative Director for Green Century Capital Management, a socially responsible investment firm. She has directed public interest and recruitment campaigns for the national association of State Public Interest Research Groups and holds a degree in environmental policy from Rutgers University.

Matthew Applebaum manages all issues related to information technology, including networks, computers, websites, and databases at SAI. He graduated from the University of Colorado and Berklee College of Music.

As Manager of People Operations, Sam Cagenello supports SAI's global team and processes to achieve alignment, effectiveness, and efficiency within the organization. Sam has previously worked for United States Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT-D) in his state office in Hartford, Connecticut. As a Staff Assistant, Cagenello interacted with the Senator's constituency by managing correspondence and working on constituent services casework. He also has experience with election politics, working with the Hillary for America advance team. With an academic background in history and political science, Sam has travelled internationally for various conservation and humanitarian projects. Most recently, he volunteered with wildlife conservation projects in Costa Rica and South Africa and humanitarian efforts in South Africa and Haiti.