The Ellen Frei Gruber Award is presented to an individual who has given outstanding service to his/her alma mater and exemplified continued commitment and support of the mission of Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Most importantly, this individual reflects the values of service, humility, peacemaking, contemplation and collegiality. The following Alvernia alumna received the award in 2022. All biographical information current at the time of the award.
Susan W. Green is a retired banking executive with over 35 years of experience in North America and Europe. Ms. Green has a solid list of accomplishments during her career, including driving sustainable new business growth and implementing innovative technologies for leading financial services institutions, including Ally Bank, Bank of America, and the former MBNA America Credit Card company. She has also been responsible for product expansion and new start-ups, including gaining funding and regulatory approval to open a new bank in Canada and launching new operations centers across the United States and Europe.
Susan was a pioneer in developing new card technologies, leading the first magnetic stripe to chip card conversion in the UK and re-engineering the Customer Information System to meet stringent European Data Privacy Laws. Due to her expansive knowledge of card technologies, she was relocated to the UK for two years to lead modernization initiatives in several countries. In addition, she was the first woman to ever serve as the National Chair for the American National Standards Institute (ID1) Committee. She served on the International Standards Organization for five years. Susan was awarded multiple patents for her work and is an expert in credit card operations, standards, manufacturing, and related technologies. As a side note, she is responsible for the standards under which the credit or debit cards
in your wallet are produced.In addition, for the last ten years of her working career as the Executive Director of Payments and Operations at Ally Bank, Susan was an early adopter of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning as an opportunity to automate back-office functions and reduce operating costs. She also led initiatives to develop new fraud countermeasures utilizing AI and predictive data models. Susan was also heavily involved in enterprise-wide initiatives to reduce operating overhead, introduce new payment technologies, revolutionize digital capabilities, improve user experience, and new online functionality that better engaged the customer while eliminating manual back-office processes.
Susan has provided leadership to corporate Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, new mentoring programs, and Associate Engagement Groups. She served as the regional Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Women’s Leadership Group at Ally Bank, where she was able to increase associate engagement in the Resource groups in her
chapter by 68%, forged new partnerships with local charities, and secured corporate funding to assist with housing for underprivileged mothers and their young children.
Susan feels strongly about giving back and keeps busy with various charitable organizations, including Chair of the Board of Trustees, Finance and Development
Committees at Northern Children’s Services in Philadelphia, PA; serves on Alvernia’s President’s Advisory Committee and the Women’s Council; participates in the University of Delaware’s Lerner Business School mentoring program and as an Advisor in the University’s Horn Entrepreneur Center; Advisor for First Founders Accelerator with a focus on minorities and women; judges competitions for Delaware Prosperity’s Start-Up 302 which focuses on underrepresented companies, and is a member of the Global Women in Payment’s organization, acting as a senior mentor to young professional women in multiple countries. In addition, Susan recently became a published author.
