Gwen Greene

I have spent the past 35 years as a financial advisor, currently at JP Morgan Securities and, before that, I had various jobs in politics and television broadcast news. In the volunteer space, I serve as a trustee of the University of Rochester and had the great honor of the university naming the Gwen M. Greene Career and Internship Center.

However, I started to feel that in my seventh decade, I need to REALLY change the world, to make a difference, specifically with young girls whom no one else is focusing on, who will otherwise have NO chance for a better life.

As a result, this summer I became chairman of the board of She’s the First, a not-for-profit that sponsors girls in low-income countries to be the first in their family to attend secondary school.

This is a new endeavor for me, and my initial accomplishments have been to energize others to have the same level of concern, the same degree of passion I feel, and to donate their time, expertise and resources to further our agenda.

Additionally, I have gotten a chapter launched at my university, and have gotten a donation from the CEO of one of the leading supermarket chains in America to fund their initial cupcake drive.

Every day I learn something new about myself and about the world, and I feel that I become increasingly able to influence events, to make a difference and to inspire others, Further, I give increasing thought to my own legacy, and what I can leave behind when I’m gone: I want succeeding generations to know that “someone” cared deeply about others, and did something to make their life better.