Founder & Managing Partner
dawnd@gaiahumancapital.com
415-535-3496

Since Dawn Dzurilla founded Gaia Human Capital Consultants in 2007, she has become highly acknowledged as a leader at the nexus of executive search, talent leadership & talent acquisition in “The Green Economy” - ESG, sustainability, climate technology, impact tech, agtech, cleantech, clean and renewable energy industry.

Dawn brings over 25 years of vast and diverse executive search, talent management and talent acquisition experience to each client, having conducted scores of fascinating and challenging retained searches for CEO's, CXO's, Directors, divisional leaders and subject matter experts for transformative, disruptive and impactful technology companies, investment and services, cleantech, renewable energy, environmental sustainability & private equity impact investors, financial institutions & information technology companies, higher educational and non-profit organizations.

Dawn served in-house as Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at Recurrent Energy, a utility-scale Solar Energy Development firm. She supported 4.3+ GW of large-scale solar energy projects development pipeline, executing best-practice scalable recruitment solutions across the entire company, attracting coveted passive candidates, especially in Recurrent’s Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) division.

Dawn co-founded H3 Capital Management a pioneer Alternative Impact Investment / Wealth Management firm that promoted Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) to institutional & pension investors, investment search & asset management consultants, financial wealth planners and HNW accredited investors.

Prior, Dawn served as Vice President of a boutique retained search firm partnering with global financial institutions, investment & wealth managers and financial industry non-profits / trade associations.

Dawn's retained search career began focused in the financial institution’s markets - investment banking, investment management, wealth management, mutual fund, banking and insurance. She originated several multi-year, successful client relationships and executed scores of U.S. and U.K. searches. She built teams of Executives, Portfolio Managers, Bankers, Investment Research, HR, Financial Management, Operations and Technology Executives. She led a Investment Bank’s University Recruitment program.

Earlier, Dawn helped build, as Director, Corporate Development & Investor Relations, a pioneer medical waste technology company.

Dawn began her career in New York City as a Financial Analyst at Smith Barney a/k/a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

As a past National Chair of Human Capital for The Cleantech Open (CTO), Dawn offered scores of entrepreneurial CEO’s at early-stage companies organizational and talent advise, while also leading CTO’s HR functions.

Dawn continues to serve on various boards. Dawn is an Advisory Board Member of award winning, Solstice Solar. She serves on the StartOut SF board; is a board of directors member of the largest San Francisco political organization. Additionally, Dawn is board emerita of boards engaged in LGBTQ+ community and leadership issues, politics and religious institutions.

Dawn has authored numerous articles and has presented at venues including Stanford University, CalPoly, Columbia University, Princeton University, Cornell University, Net Impact, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Evergreen State College, Mitchell College, Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy and The Cleantech Open.

A native of New York City, Dawn graduated from St. John’s University in New York and has continued her studies throughout the years.

Dawn resides in San Francisco, CA with her adorable Havanese Puppy, Penny.

Partner

Zoë Van Schyndel has been involved with Gaia Human Capital Consultants since its founding in 2007, when she originally spearheaded the practice's Green Employee Benefits program. Zoë partners in retained executive search and talent management with a broad array of organizations and institutions in pursuit of senior sustainability, ESG and C-level leadership talent.

A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Zoë leads Gaia Human Capital Consultants' ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Investment Executive Search Practice. Zoë partners in retained executive search and talent management with a broad array of client financial institutions, investment management and wealth management company leaders.

Zoë conducts executive search engagements with public and private investors, including pension funds, endowments and foundations seeking to create positive, meaningful impact and to increasingly make their investments towards sustainability-focused companies.

Zoë's background is in the investment industry as a practitioner in the mutual and hedge fund arena along with several ventures focused on ESG investing, including her experience in the private sector leading several entrepreneurial companies. A pioneer in the socially responsible investment (SRI) sector, Zoe Co-Founded and served as Chief Investment Officer at H3 Capital Management - an alternative investment start-up, and previously lead a team of analysts at KLD Research & Analytics, an Impact Investment research firm.

Zoë was responsible for the creation of the first SRI exchange traded fund (ETF) which now has more than three billion in assets.

Early in her financial career, at the Securities & Exchange Commission, Zoë conducted field reviews of mutual funds, investment advisers, and brokerage houses. Subsequently, she focused on risk management at one of the world’s largest money management firms, State Street Global Advisors.

Zoë has held business school faculty positions at several academic institutions, including Northeastern University, The University of Miami, and The Evergreen State College. She has also worked with the investment industry’s premier self-regulatory and educational association, The CFA Institute for nearly three decades.

She was an active member of the Boston Security Analysts Society, where she organized, and also taught a number of educational sessions on financial topics ranging from ethics to real estate investments.

Managing Director

Lizandra Vega is Managing Director & Executive Search Consultant for Gaia Human Capital Consultants. In this capacity, she provides retained executive search and leadership & advisory services to a broad range of clients within: private equity, venture capital, and their portfolio companies. Lizandra’s mission and vision are focused on identifying more qualified women (particularly women of color) for board positions and executive leadership roles, as well as partnering with companies where ESG, sustainability, social justice, and corporate governance are integral to the fabric of each specified corporate culture. Creating balanced boards and executive teams, by engaging diverse members that reflect upon an organization’s strategic direction, leadership, and perspective, is the essence of Lizandra’s consistent collaborative success.

Lizandra’s approach to executive search derives from 20+ years of combined experience in high-volume recruitment of emerging talent, in-house global talent acquisition, entrepreneurship & leadership as co-founder of a NYC search & staffing start-up, as well as retained search for specialty boutiques and global talent advisory firms. As a retained search consultant of top executives and C-suites, Lizandra is inspired to identify, assess, and attract leaders that contribute cognitive diversity, to ensure Gaia’s clients’ business objectives and goals are achieved with the highest integrity.

Lizandra is the author of The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land the Job You Want (AMACOM Books, May 2010). Through marketing & publicity for her book, she gained notoriety as “The Career Confidante,” while blogging, presenting, and appearing as guest expert on TV, radio, and other media platforms that reached Spanish and English-speaking audiences.

Lizandra has always served as the voice of under-represented individuals and groups. She has invariably executed searches with a zoom lens on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging as a result of her personal experiences as a Latina, raised in The Bronx, who triumphed above language and cultural barriers.

Lizandra is a graduate of Wesleyan University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and English Literature. She has earned certifications in DEI&B for HR from Cornell University and Entrepreneurship from Wharton Executive Education. Additionally, she has served on boards that appeal to her creative interests: The Association of Image Consultants International and as Co-President of The Westchester Ballet Company.

Lizandra currently resides in New Canaan, Connecticut with her husband and two children.

PRACTICE AREAS:

Functional:

* CHRO / Human Resource Management

* CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)

* CRO (Chief Revenue Officer)

* CIO / CTO

Industries:

* Corporate ESG / Sustainability

* Private Equity & Venture Capital

* Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

* Consumer

* Circular Economy