Inatai Investment Management Co.

Investment decisions are never neutral.

Successful investing is about more than making money. It’s about making a difference. That’s why Inatai Investments prioritizes people over profits, using a cost-sharing model to compound the capital, power, and influence of Inatai Foundation and our partners advancing racial justice and equity.

A typical investment management company works for their clients based on a fee schedule. We offer investment management services at cost. Opting out of a profit-driven model means we’re free to choose investment options that make sense for our partners, not our bottom line.

We’re proud of the diverse expertise and experience our leadership team brings to the table. Collectively, we define Inatai Investment’s philosophy, strategy, and approach, and our small group of investment managers take action. Equity through investment is our North Star.

Market investments are never neutral. We consider both the earning potential and the values-alignment of every investment we make. Our partners can rest easy knowing their investments are sustainable for the long term and support, rather than undermine, their values.

Inatai Investments team

We are a team of professional investors motivated to use our skills and expertise to build and manage capital for organizations advancing racial justice and equity.

We’re fighting for partners’ missions, not their fees.

  • Habtamu Bekele

    Investment Operations Manager

  • Angie Corwin

    Administrative Associate

  • Bowei Gao

    Investment Analyst

  • Julia Reilly

    Associate Director of Investments

  • Komal Sanklecha

    Investment Operations Analyst

  • Peng Wang

    Chief Investment Officer

  • Dawn Wilson

    Investment Operations Director

  • Charlotte Zhang

    Director of Investments

Habtamu Bekele

Investment Operations Manager

he/him/his

Habtamu Bekele joins Inatai Foundation with a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

He’s worked previously at BlackRock as a vice president of investment operations and Carta Equity Management Solutions as a manager on the fund administration team. With 17 years of experience in traditional and alternative investment operations, Habtamu brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. Habtamu will lead and supervise key vendors and manage the execution of investments, investment accounting, investment administration, cash management/rebalancing and investment performance reporting.

Habtamu is an active member of the Ethiopian Community in Seattle, an organization committed to helping Ethiopian immigrants find jobs, housing, health care and legal support. He also loves to travel with his wife and son. He makes a point of visiting Ethiopia as often as he can and enjoys quick getaways to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. When he’s not working, serving his community, or booking his next travel adventure, Habtamu spends his leisure time running and hiking in the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.

Angie Corwin

Administrative Associate

she/her/hers

Angie is an administrative associate supporting the investment team at the foundation. She’s responsible for providing overall administrative and database support while coordinating with external partners. Angie brings with her years of operations and administrative support at Seattle-area technology start-ups like Redfin. A big believer in the power of volunteering and being in the community, she’s served at organizations like Legal Voice since 2013. 

Angie loves to bake—particularly French desserts. And when she’s not taking her beloved dog Maddie on a hike, she’s likely playing the accordion. 

Bowei Gao

Investment Analyst

he/him/his

As part of the three-year rotational analyst program, Bowei conducts manager screening and research, builds relationships with institutional investors, and analyzes portfolio-level data. Previously, Bowei served as a private asset analyst for LP Analyst, where he analyzed private markets and advised university endowments and foundations. Bowei has a master of finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in finance, with a minor in economics, from Georgetown University.

In his free time, Bowei enjoys exploring nature, playing basketball and golf, and trying out new restaurants.

Julia Reilly

Associate Director of Investments

she/her/hers

As associate director of investments, Julia Reilly is helping build Inatai Foundation’s investment portfolio and operational infrastructure from the ground up. She is responsible for supporting the sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring of the foundation’s investments in both public and private markets. Most recently, Julia worked on the investment team at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., helping manage a $1.8 billion endowment for the world’s largest network of museums, education, and research institutions, which include 19 museums and the National Zoo.

After graduating from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Julia worked as an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Julia grew up in Renton, went to high school in Covington, and is grateful to be back in Washington and closer to family. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, reading nonfiction, and travelling internationally.

Komal Sanklecha

Investment Operations Analyst

she/her/hers

Based out of Seattle, Komal is a skilled finance professional who brings a well-rounded investment background to Inatai Foundation. She has over five years of experience in financial assessment and data analysis that ranges from examining funds at top global finance companies to budget forecasting for emerging businesses founded by entrepreneurs of color. Before joining the foundation, she was a client account manager at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business and Economics. Komal earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Pune in India and later attained a master’s in accounting and finance at Westminster University in London. She graduated from Seattle University with a master’s in finance prior to her role at Inatai.

Komal is a seasoned traveler who loves taking in the beautiful scenery and local history of the places she visits. She and her husband moved to Seattle from India and enjoy exploring the vegetarian cuisine the city has to offer. Komal also spends her free time volunteering at her local Jain temple and community organizations.

Peng Wang

Chief Investment Officer

he/him/his

Peng is responsible for manager selection, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and risk management of the foundation’s assets. He previously was the head of portfolio research for TIAA Endowments, a risk manager at the $7.5 billion University of Virginia Investment Management Company, and an analyst at Georgetown University’s $1.2 billion investment office. Peng has extensive expertise in asset allocation and risk management with several publications in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Portfolio Management, Journal of Private Equity, Journal of Wealth Management, and Financial Analyst Journal, where he was awarded the Graham & Dodd Award of Excellence – Reader’s Choice for one of his publications. He was also listed as one of Chief Investment Officer’s “Forty Under Forty” in 2015 and “Top Institutional Rising Stars” by Trusted Insight in 2020.

Peng earned an MS in physics with a concentration in computer modeling and simulations from Georgetown University, and a BS in physics and economics from Peking University (Beijing University) in Beijing, China. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. In his free time, Peng likes hiking, fishing, and hunting. He is an avid photographer, with his pictures published in Lonely Planet travel guides. Peng also enjoys spending time with his spouse and young daughter.

Dawn Wilson

Investment Operations Director

she/her/hers

Dawn oversees a range of compliance, monitoring, analysis, and reporting functions for Inatai Foundation’s investment portfolio.  She holds extensive knowledge of investment operations and alternative investments.

Dawn spent two decades working for university endowments.  She was at the University of Virginia (UVA) as an accountant on the investment team and then later served as manager of investment operations and then director of investment operations. Dawn supervised all aspects of investment accounting, shareholder accounting, operations of investment pools, investment performance and compliance reporting, and safeguarding of assets. UVA formed a separate foundation, the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO), to manage the long-term assets of the university and university-related foundations.  Dawn was part of the team during the transition.  During her 17-year tenure at the university and UVIMCO, assets under management grew from $1.7 billion to more than $8 billion.

Most recently, Dawn was the senior director for investment administration at Emory University and worked as an independent consultant advising nonprofit institutions on investment operations. She lives in a multigenerational household with her parents, husband, and adult son. In addition to being among with loved ones, she enjoys spending time outside gardening and inside sewing.

Charlotte Zhang

Director of Investments

she/her/hers

As the director of investments, Charlotte oversees the selection of external investment managers, conducts portfolio research, and helps to institutionalize processes, tools, and resources. Experienced in impact investing, she previously served as a senior associate at ICONIQ Capital and, before that, Medley Partners. Investing on behalf of foundations affiliated with family offices, her investments supported a variety of nonprofit work, from early childhood education to autism research. Charlotte was a founding partner of Seed Consulting Group, a California-based nonprofit that provides pro bono strategy consulting to environmental and public health organizations, and currently serves on the Women’s Association of Venture and Equity’s west coast steering committee and as a Project Pinklight panelist for Private Equity Women Investor Network. She is also on the advisory boards of MoDa Partners, a family office whose mission is to advance the economic and educational equity of women and girls, and 8090 Partners, a multifamily office consisting of families and entrepreneurs across diverse industries that is currently deploying an impact investment fund.

Charlotte earned a BS with honors in business administration from the University of California, Berkley. When not working, you can find her globetrotting (18 countries and counting), writing a Yelp review about the best bite in town, or cuddling up with a book and her two adorable cats.

Frequently asked questions


What does the word Inatai mean?

The word “Inatai” is from the Chinuk Wawa language spoken by the Chinook Tribe located at the mouth of the Columbia River. Chinuk Wawa was often used in early Washington and the Pacific Northwest as the original language of trade. The word inatai means “across” or “other side,“ which expresses our belief that powerful communities will move us toward equity and justice.

What is the background of Inatai Investment?

In February 2017, Kaiser Permanente acquired Group Health Cooperative and used the proceeds to fund Inatai Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to transform the balance of power to ensure equity and racial justice across Washington and beyond. Since opening our doors, we’ve been committed to aligning every choice we make as a foundation – including how we allocate resources – to our values in both action and word.

In the fall of 2021, Inatai formed Inatai Investment Management Company. The idea was to offer investment management services on a cost-sharing basis (rather than for profit) to partners with shared values and long-term commitments to improving people’s lives in Washington. By pooling our resources, we believe we can build scale together, advance each of our missions, and reduce investment costs for all.

What is Inatai Investment's vision?

Our vision is to build an investment firm focused on compounding our capital and furthering our equity principles by investing responsibly, building an impact investing program, fostering diverse investment talent, and managing capital on behalf of values-aligned partners.

What is Inatai’s Investment philosophy?

First and foremost, we act in accordance with our organizational values and mission. We are long-term investors. We believe that price matters. We believe in diversification and creating aligned relationships with high-integrity people. We are flexible and opportunistic. We value independent thinking.

How does Inatai Investments differ from an outsourced CIO?

Inatai differs in three ways. First, we are laser-focused on both mission- and values-aligned investing.

Second, both our internal and external teams are highly diverse and their unique lived experiences reflect Inatai’s commitment to equity.

Finally, Inatai offers investment services using a cost-sharing model. Offering services at cost means lower expenses for all partners. This model yields neither profits nor revenue for Inatai.

How is a cost-sharing model different from a traditional investment model?

Inatai’s cost-sharing model differs from a traditional investment model in two ways, both of which benefit our partners.

First, in a traditional investment model, clients pay a fixed fee for services regardless of the number of clients served. By using a cost-sharing model, our partners take on a pro-rata, or proportional, share of the investment management cost. As more partners participate, the cost decreases for everyone—even as total assets under management and community power increase.

Second, traditional investment companies are profit-driven, meaning managers may be incentivized to prioritize company profits over clients’ best interests. Because our cost-sharing model does not yield profits or revenue for Inatai, we are free to focus on generating sustainable, long-term returns for our partners and for us.

How does Inatai Investments decide who to partner with?

Inatai aims to form a “win-win” relationship with each of our partners. To do so, we’ve identified seven criteria to determine if the relationship will be beneficial for all involved: (1) alignment in institutional values; (2) a focus on equity; (3) strong leadership and succession planning; (4) a long-term investment horizon; (5) tolerance for illiquidity; (6) a proper level of risk tolerance; (7) assets under management (AUM) size.

In addition to these criteria, Inatai also assesses items regarding partners’ operational status, for instance, their location. Initially, Inatai’s ideal partners will be based in and serving the Pacific Northwest. These criteria reflect our best thinking now about selecting partner organizations. Over time, our framework will continue to evolve as we work to better identify “win-win” situations for Inatai and partners.

We believe strongly in the foundational premise on which Inatai is built. That is, by pooling our collective resources and building scale together we will reduce investment costs, advance each of our missions, and enact the change we hope to see in the world.

Learn more

For more information, please contact us at investments@inatai.org.