Join us as we explore the numerous and varied career paths within the banking industry.  Our six person panel include women in positions of bank president, credit, workout, loan review, small business and human resources.  Submit your questions in advance through the Zoom registration process or live during the event. 
 
About Our Panelists

Leslie Joannides-Burgos is Brookline Bank’s Executive Vice President and Division Executive of Retail and Business Banking. Leslie joined the Bank in November 2012 as a Regional Vice President. Prior to her joining Brookline Bank, Leslie served as SVP and Regional Manager at Citizens Bank. She serves on the Board of Directors of Operation A.B.L.E., which provides employment and training opportunities to  job seekers from diverse backgrounds.  Leslie holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida and is  a graduate of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She resides in Franklin, MA with her husband. They have 2 grown children, and all are avid New England sports fans.

Maria Harris serves as Director of Rockland Trust's Human Resources department. She joined the Bank in 2003 as a recruiter and later was promoted to Director of Recruitment and Colleague Relations. Previously, Maria served as Recruiter for Zurich Scudder Investments and Recruitment Manager for the May Institute. She was the recipient of the Boston Business Journal's Wellness Champion Award and the 2010 Brockton's Women of the Year Award. Maria earned the distinction of SPHR and a Bachelor of Arts from Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater State University). During her tenure at Rockland Trust, the Bank has been ranked for twelve straight years by The Boston Globe as one of the “Top Places to Work” in Massachusetts and recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the “Best Places to Work for the LGBTQ equality”.

Maria introduced Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) focused on supporting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and launched RockFIT, an employee wellness program that promotes a culture of physical, emotional, and financial well-being through activities and events, information, and other resources. Recently, Maria has co-led diversity council and developed action plans to support racial equality and social justice

Carolyn Normandhas been in banking for over 17 years and recently started with South Shore Bank as Chief Credit Officer. She was previously a Senior Credit Officer with People’s United Bank in Boston, responsible for review, approval, and management of credit portfolios covering Franchise Lending; Commercial and Industrial teams in MA, Non-Profit Lending; and large MA Business Banking. Prior to People’s United she worked with Rockland Trust as a Commercial Credit Manager/Credit Officer managing a team of 25 credit team leaders and analysts. She has also worked for People’s United, Santander, and Wells Fargo holding various roles in credit, portfolio management, underwriting, residential loan funding and closing, and documentation audit.

Carolyn earned her MS in Business Ethics and Compliance from New England College of Business and Finance, a BS in Accounting from UMass Dartmouth, and a Certificate for Women in Leadership from Cornell University. She is on the Board of Directors for the Risk Management Association – New England Chapter and is active in women’s leadership events as a keynote speaker and panelist. She lives in Plymouth with her husband Paul and small parrot Marley.

Kim Foster has spent most of her 30+ year career in banking and currently serves as a Senior Vice President, Relationship Manager for Asset Based Lending Division with People’s United Bank in Boston. She began her career at Shawmut Bank in 1986 in the Asset Based Lending Division and was promoted from field examiner to credit analyst to VP Loan officer. She then spent 9 years growing the ABL loan portfolio. Subsequently, Kim spent two years with New England Consulting Partners working with a team of turnaround consultants and later joined Massachusetts Growth Capital (quasi-public agency) as a Senior Loan Officer. Kim spent the last five years at Boston Private as SVP in the Boston Commercial Lending Group and worked closely with a loan portfolio that she developed over the years. Kim earned her Bachelor in Science in Business in Finance from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Diana Lamkin currently serves as a Team Leader of Managed Assets Department, SVP with Eastern Bank in Boston, MA. She started her banking career 37 years ago in a retail banking as a head teller in a branch for Beverly Savings Bank. From there she move into a commercial banking assistant role, attended credit training, and moved up the commercial banking ladder. She worked at Bank of New England, Fleet Financial Group, Neworld Bank, Boston, MA, Bank Boston and Mass Development Finance Agency holding various roles in loan review and commercial loan workout. She is a member of various Banking Associations. Diana completed her Bachelor in Science in Business Administration.

Donna Boulanger has been in banking industry for last 40+ years and currently serves as President & CEO of North Brookfield Savings Bank. She started her career as a management trainee and became a branch manager at Woonsocket Savings & Trust where she transitioned into the Commercial Lending Department. She then spent 4 years at Old Stone Bank as a Commercial Loan Officer and in 1986 was promoted to Unit leader for the Rhode Island Lending Division. She worked as Senior Risk Manager in Commercial Corporate Lending Division of Fleet Bank till 1993 before spending 10 years with Peoples Savings Bank as Chief Lending Officer/Senior Vice President where she assisted with several bank acquisitions and new branch locations growing the Bank from $160 million in assets to $1 billion in assets. Before joining North Brookfield Savings Bank as a CEO in 2007, she was an Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer at Mansfield Bank. She holds a board position with Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, North Brookfield Savings Bank, Depositors Insurance Fund, Massachusetts Bankers Association and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Donna earned her Bachelor in Arts from Stonehill College and has taken various graduate courses from Bryant University.

Read a recent Worcester Business Journal article about Donna.
 
About our Moderator

Carol Cedrone Brennan, Director of Business Development for BDC Capital, has been with the firm for over 20 years. She is responsible for keeping the BDC Capital name before the business, banking, and investment communities for ABL, subdebt, mezzanine financing and SBA 504 loans. Carol is also a board member of the New England Chapter of the Risk Management Association (RMA).

 

Zoom information:

When: October 28, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Careers in Banking

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://rmahq.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hUJkCDgOTfGlG5Ix0tt8nA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For more information contact:
Julie Conroy, RMA Administrator
Julie@rmanewengland.org