a professionally and personally rewarding career
Gail Snowden is one of the SOM's most respected alumnae. A veteran of the banking industry and a nationally recognized leader in urban community development, she received the White House Ron Brown Award for Advocating for the Needs of Minority and Low-Income Constituents in 1999. The award honored Snowden and her then-employer BankBoston for their efforts in establishing a Community Bank division. "I still get chills thinking about it," exclaims Snowden.
When she volunteered to lead this community banking initiative in 1990, it involved 70 people and seven Boston bank branches. Her tenure at the helm produced 1,500 employees in five states, $5 billion in deposits, and a $14.6 billion commitment to mortgage and small business lending. What started as an inner city Boston endeavor became an accepted nationwide model for the U.S.'s community banking efforts. "This was truly one of the high points of my career in the banking industry," says Snowden. "Leading the community banking initiative was both professionally and personally rewarding; it enabled me to stay true to my values of giving back to the community and making a difference with my life."
With all this achievement, success, and power, you'd think Snowden would have coasted out her respected career in banking all the way to retirement, but that's not what happened. In the spring of 2004 at age 59, Snowden left her position as executive vice president for community investment at FleetBoston Financial Corp. and became vice president for finance and operations at The Boston Foundation, one of the nation's oldest and largest community foundations. What prompted this daring transition from the upper echelons of corporate America to a nonprofit charitable foundation?
"Just as it had done many times throughout my career, Simmons again played a big role in my decision," says Snowden. "While attending the 2004 SOM Leadership Conference, I listened to speaker Jane Fonda talk about starting the next chapter in her life. I knew right then and there that I, too, had an opportunity to embrace a new chapter in my life - and that I could do so with confidence and excitement. After all the years of staying connected to the SOM because I valued the managerial training I received there and because I recognized the merit of the SOM network, it was satisfying to realize the school could still have an important impact on my career."
And now Snowden's connection to the SOM has left its own legacy in her family. Daughter Leigh Snowden Trimmier is a two-time Simmons alumna, having received her MSW from the Simmons School of Social Work in 1998 and her MBA from the SOM in 2002. "It was about time she returned to the SOM to finish the job," explains Snowden. "I brought her with me to class nearly 30 years ago when she was a toddler and I was a working mother and part-time student. I know she'll always value her experience at the SOM as much as I do mine."