Who We Are

After an early career in economic development, I joined Cape Cod 5 as a commercial lender over 25 years ago. Today, I am CEO and Chair of the Cape Cod Five Mutual Company, the sole shareholder of Cape Cod 5, which employs over 500 people at 27 locations and was recently once again named a Boston Globe Best Place to Work and one of American Banker’s Top Banks to Work for. I am the former chair of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Board, and was appointed by the Federal Reserve Board to serve as the president of their Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) for 2020, after having served on the council as a member in 2019. I also currently serve as Chair of the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. I have served on the Boards of the Cape Cod Community College, the Cape Symphony Orchestra, Housing Assistance Corporation, Gosnold, Inc. and the Regional Employment Board. I was also elected as a member of the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative Board of Directors in 2020. I hold an MBA from Suffolk University.

Other: My first professional position was as Executive Director of Little Miami, Inc., a river preservation organization in Ohio. Although I have spent the balance of my career in economic development and banking, I have always been focused on the environment and the care that needs to be exercised in balancing human activity with our natural world. My 27 years at Cape Cod 5 have deepened my understanding of the unique and delicate nature of the Cape Cod and Islands ecosystem, and the deep dependence our regional economy has on our natural environment. Working together with my Senior Leadership Team, I have designated Environmental Stewardship as one of Cape Cod 5’s key area of focus for our Community Commitment. Through each of our Five Ways of Engagement (Community Banking; Responsible Business Practices; Corporate Leadership & Volunteerism; Advancement of Financial Know-How; and Philanthropy), our 500+ employees work together to help protect our natural environment. We have committed ourselves to supporting several key organizations and events that bring together environmental thought leaders, with local and state officials and corporate citizens to move the needle in such things as sustainable infrastructure and corporate responsibility. We have developed programs to help make more affordable ecofriendly choices such as home solar panels, and have as an institution invested in community solar arrays. Finally, our new 80,000 square foot headquarters, “HQ5,” was carefully planned to be environmentally sensitive, which led to selection of a formerly developed site, design of the building to LEED Gold standards, use of renewable energy, a parking structure to minimize asphalt footprint, inclusion of energy efficient systems including smart window technology, incorporation of paperless systems and processes, among many other environmentally sound practices. This project also includes expansion of the sewer infrastructure for use both by this site and abutters.

Sarah is the Science Program Director at Pleasant Bay Community Boating in East Harwich, MA. Her education includes: BS. Earth and Marine Science at the University of California Santa Cruz; PhD. Coastal Oceanography at Stony Brook University, “Bioavailability of sediment-bound metals to two marine bivalves “; Postdoctoral and Research Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, collaboration with the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), France. Sarah’s work experience: Eight years with the US Geological Survey, Branch of Marine Geology, ship-board physical science technician, navigator, and public education outreach; Five years teaching high school sciences, MA teaching certificate in chemistry; Town of Chatham, water quality scientist. Sarah joined Pleasant Bay Community Boating In 2015 to build science and stewardship programs and work side-by-side with those dedicated to making community sailing, hands-on marine education and environmental stewardship accessible to all.

Other: I come from a family of New England scientists and conservationists but I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area In the 1960 and ‘70s. Our family regularly backpacked in the Sierra Nevadas and learned to scuba dive in Monterey Bay. Surrounded by environmental activists, early on I understood the destructive impact humans have on the earth. A huge step toward restoring our planet requires us to greatly reduce our carbon footprint. My interest is in educating and inspiring the next generation to create a Net Zero world and to help to explain the complex consequence of excess greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere and oceans.