Two alumnae in trustee election

I'm no Nate Silver, but I'm predicting with near-100 percent confidence that the winner of this year's election of an alumni fellow to the Yale Corporation will be named Gina. University secretary Kimberly Goff-Crews ’83, ’86JD, sent e-mails to alumni today with links to the online ballot for a six-year term on the Corporation, which is the university's board of trustees. This year's candidates, chosen by a nominating committee of the Association of Yale Alumni, are Gina Boswell ’89MPPM, a vice president of Unilever, and Gina Raimondo ’98JD, the state treasurer of Rhode Island and current candidate for governor of that state.

The winner of the election would fill the slot on the Corporation currently held by Caltech chemistry professor Peter Dervan ’72PhD, whose term as an alumni fellow ends in June. The university announced yesterday that Dervan will continue on the board as one of ten successor trustess, who are chosen by the Coproration itself for six-year terms. Also joining the Corporation as a successor trustee will be William Kennard ’81JD, a former ambassador to the European Union, former chair of the Federal Communications Commission, and former managing director of the Carlyle Group. Kennard, who got his bachelor's degree from Stanford, is currently a senior adviser to the private equity firm Grain Management. Dervan and Kennard will succeed Byron Auguste ’89 and Indra Nooyi ’80MPPM.

The candidates for alumni fellow share a first name, but have had very different careers. Raimondo got her bachelor's degree from Harvard and was a Rhodes Scholar before going to Yale Law School. She clerked for US District Judge Kimba Wood, then worked in venture capital before being elected state treasurer in 2010. Best known for her efforts to restructure Rhode Island's pension system, she launched her campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in January.

Boswell, a graduate of Boston University, worked as a management consultant after college and then studied business at the Yale School of Management. She has since worked as a senior executive at Estée Lauder Companies, Ford Motor Company, Avon North America, and Alberto Culver. She is currently executive vice president of personal care at Unilever North America, where she is responsible for such brands as Dove, AXE, Suave, and Vaseline.

All alumni with graduate degrees, and all Yale College graduates from 2008 or earlier, are eligible to vote in the election. Voting ends on May 18. For more information on the election process, go to the secretary's website.

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The Yale Alumni Magazine is published by Yale Alumni Publications Inc., an alumni-based nonprofit that is not run by Yale University. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration.