Blondel A. Pinnock

37, Vice President-Senior Client Manager - Community Development Banking, Bank of America, New York City

Her parents, who emigrated from Jamaica, were the driving force in every aspect of her life, says Blondel A. Pinnock. “I believe that I am the realization of their hopes and dreams here in this country, and although they are not physically present, they are always foremost in my mind.”

Pinnock, 37, is senior client manager with Bank of America's Com-munity Development Lending group. She works closely with for-profit and not-for-profit developers to finance the development of low- and moderate-income residential and commercial real estate projects. She has closed more than $100 million in construction deals, creating more than 2,000 units of housing and 50,000 square feet of retail and office space in New York City and Westchester. Prior to joining the Bank of America, Blondel was counsel and deputy director for the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development's Tax Incentives Unit. She holds a B.A. in art history and sociology from Columbia University and a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law.

Community activism is very important to Blondel. She works with the Association of African-American Real Estate Professionals of New York, the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. and the Homesteader's Federal Credit Union. She also volunteers with the Banking on Our Youth program, teaching financial literacy to inner-city children, and is active in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., North Manhattan Alumnae Chapter, and in her church, Abyssinian Baptist, in New York City.

“I would love to open . . . a career and life counseling center for young women entering the job force for the first time,” she says. “Getting crucial information to someone early in life can make the biggest impact.” Meanwhile, through her work with Bank of America, she is impacting the community on a day-to-day basis by renewing hope and enabling home and community ownership among the disenfranchised.

Pinnock is an accomplished pianist who studied at Music and Art High School in New York. She credits her son, Miles, with “[giving] my life balance, professionally and personally.”