Yvonne was elected to her first term on The Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees (CPF Board) at the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in 2018. She currently serves as Vice Chair of its Audit Committee and is also a member of its Finance Committee. She is seeking reelection to the CPF Board so that she can further utilize her experiences as an incumbent trustee and continue to apply her expertise in finance, audit, and employee benefits in service to the Church.
She has decades of experience as a financial consultant. She honed her skills with institutional and individual clients at the world’s largest private pension fund, TIAA-CREF (now known as TIAA). She developed extensive technical knowledge of employee benefit plans while at TIAA. Yvonne acquired a depth of expertise in guiding institutional clients through analyzing, designing, and installing these plans. She also has vast experience providing financial consulting services, guidance, and information for her individual clients, helping them plan for a more secure financial future. Yvonne has a strong commitment to helping women develop greater financial literacy, conducting seminars for women on the importance of planning and saving for retirement.
A strong proponent of the value of professional growth through continuing education, Yvonne earned these financial services industry professional designations:
- Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)
- Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
- Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) with distinction
- Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS)
- Associate, Customer Service (ACS) with honors
- Health Insurance Associate (HIA)
- Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC)
Yvonne successfully completed the FINRA Series 6, 7, 63, and 65 exams. She earned a Master of Arts degree at New School University and a Bachelor of Science at the University of Puerto Rico. Yvonne completed the Women’s Leadership Institute certificate program at the Hartford Seminary and Education for Ministry (EfM) from the School of Theology, The University of the South.
Yvonne served on the Board of Trustees of the prestigious American College of Financial Services, the oldest and largest academic accrediting organization serving the financial services industry. She has also served on the boards of The Church Club of New York, The Cathedral School of Saint John the Divine, the Society of Financial Service Professionals, and Triangle Theatre. Yvonne was recently appointed to the board of Stand With Iraqi Christians.
Yvonne represents an ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organization (NGO), Africa Development Interchange Network (ADIN), at the United Nations (UN), and in April, she attended the third session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent in Geneva; her statements are in the meeting proceedings. She is a member of various NGO committees, has held leadership positions on their executive committees, and is a sought-after civil society leader. Yvonne produced numerous panels and webinars, has spoken at UN and NGO events, including a statement at the first UN Ocean Conference in 2017, and participated in planning the 2023 Financing for Development Conference. She was a member of the Advisory Council of the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations, appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In the Episcopal Diocese of New York, Yvonne is a member of the Standing Committee, the Task Force Against Human Trafficking, and the Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse. As chair of the Diocese’s Companion Diocese Committee and later the Global Mission Commission’s chair, Yvonne fostered international mission outreach connections in congregations. She has traveled internationally, especially in Africa and India, to strengthen bonds among congregations and help develop anti-poverty programs.
Yvonne grew up in the church. She began reading in church as a very young girl at her great-grandmother’s annual birthday church service. Yvonne was first elected to the vestry as a teenager and has held various positions, including warden, in her parish, Holy Trinity in Manhattan.
Yvonne was awarded the Society of Financial Service Professionals’ Paul S. Mills Scholarship, recognizing her lifelong commitment to education, voluntarism, and ethics. The Council of the City of Philadelphia honored and recognized Yvonne with a Citation, dated May 9, 2018, “for her commitment to the advancement of women and girls in the United States and abroad.” She is also the recipient of the Equitable Community Leadership Award.