The Kresge Foundation today announced that Audrey Choi, a pioneer in the fields of corporate sustainability and sustainable finance, has joined its Board of Trustees. Choi is the newest member of the private, national foundation’s governing body, which provides governance oversight to Kresge’s strategic grantmaking, social investing and operations.

Choi’s career has spanned the highest levels of finance, government and journalism — as a C-Suite officer of Morgan Stanley, as chief of staff of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and as bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal.

Choi was the first ever chief sustainability officer on Wall Street. She also served as chief marketing officer (CMO) and was a member of Morgan Stanley’s Global Management Committee. An early advocate for sustainable investing, she proposed and founded the institution’s Global Sustainable Finance Group and the Institute for Sustainable Investing. She also founded and led its Community Development Finance Group, investing more than $20 billion to strengthen low-income communities. During her tenure as CMO, she is credited with stewarding the favorability of the venerable financial services brand to all-time highs across all global markets.

“Audrey brings a distinctive set of skills that will significantly enhance our board discussions and decision-making around finance, social investments, communications and media, environmental issues and domestic policy,” said Trustee Cynthia Kresge, who led the trustee search process and is the great-granddaughter of founder Sebastian S. Kresge. “She embodies what we always seek in new trustees: trailblazers who use their skills to make the world a better place.”

“As Kresge deepens its work into sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, social investing and alternative uses of capital to meet our mission, we see Audrey’s breadth of professional experience as a perfect complement to these important endeavors,” said Rip Rapson, Kresge Foundation CEO and president.

Choi graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She was a White House Fellow, Fulbright Scholar and David Rockefeller Fellow. A first-generation Korean American, she is fluent in French and German.

Per the foundation’s bylaws, Choi will serve an initial 4-year term as a trustee.