Meet Andréa

The throughline of my career is building community. I thrive on the ability to develop and facilitate lasting connections with people. My nonlinear trajectory through the public, non-profit and private sectors has afforded me the opportunity to leverage the power of these relationships into an impactful platform.

In my role as Regional Manager for the Pittsburgh site—the largest employee base across our footprint—I am responsible for ensuring that our local BNY Mellon community thrives. I apply this focus daily in the stewardship of our employee engagement, talent development, diversity, equity and inclusion, government and community affairs initiatives.

Success in these endeavors requires an inclusive community, which necessitates harnessing the richness of our diversity.

That’s why observing Black History Month is more than a celebration of the Black experience—it’s an opportunity to reflect on the defining role it has played in our nation’s journey; Black history is American history.

Service has been an integral component of my career journey. My drive to be civically engaged and community-minded has been an asset in the different roles that I’ve held over the years. Early in my career, I actively sought out community groups that aligned with my core values – equity, mentorship, empowerment of women and girls. Eventually, this led to serving on non-profit boards. By engaging in service, I gained two unexpected benefits: accelerated professional development and a significant expansion of my network that now includes individuals and communities whom I would not have encountered in my regular work interactions. Through board service, I gained critical skills, including how to effectively lead and manage teams—well before I was doing so in my ‘day job’. Nurturing these unexpected relationships has paid dividends in many dimensions of my life, both personally and professionally.

I always encourage emerging leaders to seek out opportunities to volunteer in their community. By advocating for others, you can enhance your personal growth and learn first-hand the impact of cultivating intentional connections.  

At the firm, employees are culture carriers for our values and behaviors, which define who we are, how we act and how we work together. Our Courage to Lead value—which mandates taking risks and growing and moving on from failures— deeply resonated with me this past year as I designed and launched a 12-month, Pittsburgh-based BNY Mellon sponsorship program that is anchored on relationship-building and creating community, connecting Black colleagues based in Pittsburgh, with senior leaders across our site and throughout the firm for meaningful exposure and professional development opportunities. This framework that has been established in Pittsburgh will serve as a template for similar efforts at other sites across our footprint. It’s just one example of how we’re intentionally—and courageously— advancing our culture, nurturing community and providing upward mobility for diverse employees.