Uma Moriarity feels lucky to call Penn State “home” as an alumna of the Class of 2014. Now, she’s on a mission to ensure the university is a home to future Penn Staters in the same way it was to her.

Moriarity is campaigning for a seat on Penn State’s Board of Trustees as a part of the Penn State Forward platform. The ticket, promoted by Penn State Forward, features Moriarity, Katherine Wheatle, and Daniel Zahn, and champions young, diverse, forward-thinking alumni to run for the Board of Trustees. In her second campaign for the board, Moriarity is focused on growing sustainability efforts, increasing financial transparency, and implementing long-term fiscal health initiatives at Penn State.

In her work with CenterSquare, a $14 billion real estate investment firm, Moriarity, the global head of sustainability, integrates financial and environmental strategy into each of CenterSquare’s real estate investments. With experience in strategy at a global real estate investment firm, Moriarity knows her knowledge can better Penn State’s sustainability performance across the Commonwealth.

“We’re really proving the fact that you can invest in a way that both generates great returns but also does so while thinking about the positive impact that you can create across environmental and social types of attributes within the world,” Moriarity said.

Moriarity’s sustainability and strategic work centers largely on creating long-term investments for her clients — something she believes Penn State could benefit from should she be elected to the Board of Trustees. As the futures of certain Commonwealth Campuses remains unclear, Moriarity acknowledged the university’s lack of long-term success planning despite access to birth rate and college enrollment data decreases.

As a demographic cliff approaches in college-aged students and state-wide admissions decrease, a long-term understanding of Commonwealth Campus longevity and success wasn’t prematurely examined, she said.

“Both of these things should’ve been things the university was aware of and looking at and considering all this time,” Moriarity said. “It should not have been a surprise.”

Though many of her goals for a term on the Board of Trustees are highlighted by making up for lost ground in regard to sustainability and financial transparency efforts, Moriarity is aware of several long-term trends the university could explore to maximize fundraising and future financial decision-making.

One trend, she said, is the shift from men historically controlling wealth to women becoming more and more involved in wealth management at a “pretty meaningful pace.” Because of the modern transfer of wealth, women are more involved in investing and donating funds.

“Women are much more inclined to invest in alignment with their values,” Moriarity said. “They’re much more inclined to invest in things like sustainable investments and more likely to invest in socially-driven kinds of investments.”

With this understanding and analysis of a long-term trend, Moriarity wants to initiate more intentional fundraising and development strategies to align with the wealth shift as it continues to unfold.

“From the perspective of what I do as an investment strategist and thought leader, these are all long-term types of things that you have to be thinking about in order to make sound financial decisions that can future-proof the university,” she continued.

Sustainability, financial transparency, and long-term trends are at the forefront of Moriarity’s agenda, and she aspires for Penn State to incorporate each effort under one umbrella to “move a lot of these issues forward and speak with one voice.”

Overall, Moriarity seeks to invest in Penn State’s future through her work on the Board of Trustees by way of her postgraduate experience and personal drive to better the university. Alongside Wheatle, Zahn, and the Penn State Forward team, Moriarity is excited by the possibility of increasing the perspectives of young, diverse alumni in leadership roles at the university.

“It’s a perspective that we currently don’t have much of on the board, so continuing to expand the perspectives on the board to make sure that the university is future-proof for generations to come is really what we’re hoping to do,” Moriarity said.

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Editor’s note: Moriarity’s interview is the first of a multi-part series aiming to feature alumni running for open seats on the Board of Trustees. Onward State does not, and will not, endorse any candidate(s) in this election. Check out our site to read more about the remaining candidates vying for spots on the board throughout this year’s election cycle.