Sally Green of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond captured her audience with her humor as she discussed her career working for the Federal Reserve.
A crowd of about 60 business professionals and students drinking their morning coffee gathered at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Robins School of Business' Moelchert Commons, awaiting Green's interview in the "C-Suite Conversations."
"C-Suite Conversations" are unscripted interviews held at the University of Richmond with leading decision-makers in Central Virginia. The five-part series in 2012-2013 is designed to highlight the challenges and opportunities that executives encounter and to provide insight about how they lead their organizations while integrating the needs of various stakeholders.
During the interview, Green highlighted what it is like to work for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond by sharing her personal stories. She and many employees struggle to find the balance between work and personal life, which is a common problem of many corporate cultures, she said.
"I think she did a good job of explaining an issue that a lot of companies and their employees have," junior Allie Deering said. "She was really personable in her interview by sharing her own struggles with balancing that issue and how she was able to find the balance."
In the interview, Green recalled how she struggled with the decision to continue working at the Federal Reserve in Boston after her first daughter was born. She told the crowd that it was her daughter's birthday, and waved to her other daughter sitting in the crowd.
Green said that when she had worked for the Federal Reserve in Boston, officers in the company had not been allowed to work part-time. Green negotiated a deal that let her work at the Reserve part-time in a different department. She said that this change had helped her pursue an area of the bank that she had not thought to work in before.
Many times in the workplace, the bank employees are afraid of putting family first, Green said. Technology has applied more pressure to employees who believe they are never fully off the job, she said.
Green said how smartphones and email had changed the way people work. To help promote healthy living and finding a balance between work and personal life, the Federal Reserve has integrated a wellness sector to help employees struggling with finding a balance, she said.
As well as sharing her personal stories with the audience, Green discussed the values of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The employees of the bank strive to serve with integrity, lead with courage, and perform with excellence, she said. She explained that these values were created and agreed upon by the employees.
The professional setting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is engaging, challenging, and exciting, Green said. The bank is moving toward a more open culture, encouraging dialog and debate. Green said the bank had even flown the LGBT flag during LGBT Awareness month.
Green also highlighted the roles of the Federal Reserve Bank in the community. The leading role of the Federal Reserve is to ensure the stability and integrity of America's money, she said. The employees do so by regulating monetary policy and supervising banks to make sure they do not take unnecessary risks. The employees also are involved in the payment system, in which the Richmond branch transfers four million dollars per day, Green said.
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Contact reporter Olivia Simons at olivia.simons@richmond.edu
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