Mary Houghton
Encyclopedia
Mary Houghton is co-founder of ShoreBank
, the largest and oldest community development bank
. Houghton, along with Milton Davis, James Fletcher, and Ron Grzywinski
purchased what was then South Shore Bank to fight redlining in the Chicago
neighborhood
. She retired as president in May 2010.
In the early 1980s, Houghton and Grzywinski worked with Muhammad Yunus
of the Grameen Bank
in Bangladesh
(Yunus and Grameen Bank received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
). From 1986 to 2001, Houghton served on the Board of Directors of Accion International
.
Houghton serves as a director of the Calvert Foundation, the Rapid Results Institute, and Women's World Banking.
She is a member of the Ashoka Global Academy for Social Entrepreneurship.
Houghton received a B.A. cum laude from Marquette University
and an M.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University
.
ShoreBank
ShoreBank was a community development bank founded and headquartered in Chicago. At the time of its closing it was the oldest and largest such institution, and in 2008 had $2.6 billion in assets. It was owned by ShoreBank Corporation, a regulated bank holding company.ShoreBank had branches in...
, the largest and oldest community development bank
Community development bank
- Community Development Banking in the United States :In the United States, community development banks are commercial banks that operate with a mission to generate economic development in low- to moderate-income geographical areas and serve residents of these communities...
. Houghton, along with Milton Davis, James Fletcher, and Ron Grzywinski
Ron Grzywinski
Ron Grzywinski is a community development banker from Chicago, and one of four founders of ShoreBank. In May 2010 he retired as chair of ShoreBank Corporation and took the position of Advisor to the Board of Directors of ShoreBank Corporation....
purchased what was then South Shore Bank to fight redlining in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
neighborhood
South Shore, Chicago
South Shore is one of 77 well-defined community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. A predominately black neighborhood located along Chicago's southern lakefront, it is a relatively stable and gentrifying neighborhood...
. She retired as president in May 2010.
In the early 1980s, Houghton and Grzywinski worked with Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...
of the Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank
The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral...
in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
(Yunus and Grameen Bank received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
). From 1986 to 2001, Houghton served on the Board of Directors of Accion International
Accion International
ACCION International is a nonprofit organization that supports microfinance institutions in their work to provide financial services to low-income clients. ACCION provides management services, technical assistance, debt and equity investment and training to microfinance institutions and...
.
Houghton serves as a director of the Calvert Foundation, the Rapid Results Institute, and Women's World Banking.
She is a member of the Ashoka Global Academy for Social Entrepreneurship.
Houghton received a B.A. cum laude from Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
and an M.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Awards and honors
Houghton has received several awards and honors:- In 2001, she was awarded Honorary Doctorate of Business by Northern Michigan UniversityNorthern Michigan UniversityNorthern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
.
- In 2004, she was named “Community Banker of the Year” by American BankerAmerican BankerAmerican Banker is a daily trade newspaper covering the financial services industry. Founded in 1836and based in New York, American Banker has approximately 50 reporters and editors in six U.S. cities who monitor developments and breaking news affecting banks...
magazine for her work making ShoreBank “the gold standard of community development banks."
- In 2009, Houghton accepted the 2009 Economic Opportunity Achievement Award from The Opportunity Collaboration in IxtapaIxtapaIxtapa is a beach resort in the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta, in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It is located to the northwest of the municipal seat, Zihuatanejo, and some northwest of Acapulco....
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for her work "providing financial services and information to residents who were excluded from traditional banking circles."
- In 2009, she was invited to deliver the "Leaders Forum Lecture" at the Yale School of ManagementYale School of ManagementThe Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University and is located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The School offers Master of Business Administration and Ph.D. degree programs. As of January 2011, 454 students were enrolled in its MBA...
.
- Jointly with co-founder Ron Grzywinski, Houghton received the Hesburgh Award for Ethics in Business from the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, in 2008, and the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, in 2006. They were both named to U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
's list of America's Top Leaders