Gwen Greene graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in French literature, assuming she would become a high school teacher. Unfortunately , NYC schools were on strike, so she made the first of many pivots in her life—she became a Credit Analyst at Dun & Bradstreet. She next transitioned to Wall Street where she became a Trading Assistant at DLJ. It was 1970, Kent State and Cambodia were deeply affecting young people, and Greene felt guilty working for “ the establishment,” so she again pivoted and went to work for an idealistic new Mayor of NYC, John Lindsay, as Director of Tourism. When Lindsay’s term ended, she did it again, turned around and became a TV newscaster for local stations. She was ultimately fired for insubordination(!) and made her final career pivot in 1981 when she became a Stockbroker at Smith Barney, and, over the course of a 40-plus year career, worked there, Bear Stearns, and ultimately J.P. Morgan, from where she retired in 2023.

On the non-profit side, Greene grew up with a mother who emphasized that, although they had very little, there were always folks who had less, and it was their obligation to try and help them. Her earliest philanthropic engagement was with the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies where she chaired both the Business and Professional Women’s Division and the Young Wall Street Division, and in the late 1990’s led a mission to Chechnya where she helped rescue the last remaining Jews and fly them to Israel.

Greene also chaired She’s the First, a global organization achieving gender equality through educating girls in low-income countries to be the first to attend high school. At the University of Rochester, Greene joined the Trustees in 2000, and chaired Student Affairs committee from 2006-2021. She started the University’s giving society, the George Eastman Circle, and chaired the Annual Fund for 20 years. In 2011, the University named the career education office the Gwen M. Greene Center for Career Education in recognition of her leadership and support of career education. She current serves on the Board of the Memorial Art Gallery.

In the musical space, Greene chairs the Board of the Stissing Center for Performing Arts in Pine Plains, NY, and Harmundi Foundation in NYC, which was founded by an Eastman alumnus and has a mission to engage, connect, and empower young people from around the world through musical and cultural exchange.

Greene and her partner, Dennis Higgins, live in the Hudson Valley of New York with their beloved Standard Poodle, Charlie.