Susan M. Collins became the second Black woman as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Last month, the bank announced that Collins would take office in her new position on July 1. She will be the second Black president and the second Black woman to lead one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks since the central bank system was founded in 1914. Cathy Minehan served as president from 1994 through 2007. Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, was the first Black person nominated for the chief-executive role, Good Black News reported.
“It is an honor and an inspiration to serve as the Boston Fed’s next president,” Collins said. “Throughout my career, I have been driven by a commitment to leveraging research, education, and public service to improve lives. I look forward to helping the Bank and System pursue the Fed’s dual mandate from Congress – achieving price stability and maximum employment.”
Collins, 63, has worked as an economist and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Michigan since 2020. In 2007, she served as the dean of its Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy for ten years before returning to teaching.
Since then, the Boston Fed search committee has diversified its pool of candidates for the position just four months after Eric Rosengren surprisingly retired from his post amid controversy over his alleged personal investment trading. As a result, only two Black people lead the federal branches in Atlanta and Minneapolis.
Collins said she would uphold the same Boston Fed traditions the central bank has maintained for years during an interview with the Boston Globe.
“I’ll note that a common theme throughout my career has been a commitment to the mission of public service to improve lives — whether through education, research, or policy,” she said.
The 63-year-old is a New York City native who earned a college degree from Harvard in 1980 and received her Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1984. Collins said she’s excited to be returning to the place she once considered home.
“The Boston area is such a wonderful place, and I am really looking forward to being back,” Collins said.
