June 8, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. — The alumni of Amherst College have elected Sarah Bloom Raskin, member of the Class of 1983 and resident of Takoma Park, Md., to a six-year term on the college’s Board of Trustees, effective July 1.

image
Sarah Bloom Raskin ’83
“To me, Amherst is fundamentally and surpassingly important, and I want to help make it an ever stronger force for social progress and enlightenment,” said Raskin. “I am honored beyond words to serve my fellow alumni in this capacity.”

In August of 2007, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley appointed Raskin commissioner of financial regulation for the state of Maryland. She leads the 98-person Office of Financial Regulation, which supervises banks, credit unions, the mortgage industry and other financial institutions. Before accepting that appointment, Raskin was a managing director of the Promontory Financial Group, LLC, where she advised banks and other domestic and international financial institutions. In addition, she served as counsel to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs under former U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes and as a member of the Consumer Council of the Maryland Attorney General under former Attorney General Joe Currant. During her more-than-20-year career in law and banking, she has also worked for the Arnold & Porter legal firm, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, among other institutions.

An active volunteer for Amherst and other organizations since she graduated, Raskin has been a 25th Reunion program chair, class associate agent and career advisor to students. She is a member of the college’s 1821 Society, an organization recognizing leadership giving to the Annual Fund.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from Amherst, Raskin earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and served as a teaching fellow for the Harvard economics department. She lives in Takoma Park with her husband, Jamie Raskin, Maryland state senator and law professor at the American University Washington College of Law, and their children, Hannah Grace, Thomas and Tabitha.

The Board of Trustees of Amherst College consists of the president of the college, ex officio, and 20 other members: 14 term trustees elected by the board and six alumni trustees elected by alumni of the college. Founded in 1821, Amherst is one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, with nearly 1,700 undergraduates.
###