Boasting Buffalo: Laura Dolan, Bank of America market manager

Laura Dolan traded Buffalo for Syracuse when she went away to college but always figured she would come home.

After graduating from Syracuse University in 1990 with a degree in marketing and communications, that’s just what she did. Dolan, who grew up in the Southtowns, took a job at a radio station.

Two years later she took a marketing job at AT&T. In 2003 she switched industries and joined Bank of America as community relations manager.

Today she is Buffalo market manager for the bank, which is the third-largest deposit-holder in Western New York.

“I came back here because my family was here and I was always passionate about Buffalo,” said Dolan, 50. “I’d always felt that things were going to turn around and I wanted to be part of that.”

Her job at Bank of America has expanded over the years. She supports Kevin Murphy, Buffalo market president, in business development and she spends lots of time in the community, ensuring the bank remains engaged in the region.

She sits on several committees including the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) Buffalo advisory group, United Way of Buffalo & Erie County’s investment committee and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s diversity and inclusion council executive committee.

How did you get into banking? I had the opportunity to come to Bank of America in 2003, which I was thrilled about because I wanted to get more involved in supporting the community. I realized that truly was my passion so I came over to manage community relations. I got the job through a previous colleague from AT&T who was working at the bank. She kind of recruited me.

Part of your job is to connect the bank to the community. How do you do that? My role is to really understand the needs of the community and how the bank can complement the efforts of local foundations and government agencies. I don’t think any of us can do this work alone so we utilize our local foundation budget and local employees to make financial lives better in our community. We have discussions with nonprofit partners. We hold community roundtables. We try to understand what the pressing needs are. And we attend events. You have to be out there constantly going to these events and inviting partners to have discussions in order to figure out those needs.

What does the bank contribute financially to this region? I can’t break out the exact dollars that come from the bank’s charitable foundation but I would say we will probably be around $700,000 to $800,000 at the end of the year. That a combination of the bank foundation support, local and national grants and matching grants.

What are the pressing needs here? Workforce needs, hunger and housing. Those are the three we focus on.

What’s your take on the region’s revitalization? It’s interesting. I think Buffalo has always had pride, but it’s been fascinating to see it grow as national publications recognize the revitalization. For me, Canalside is amazing. We sponsored a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert there and I remember thinking that five years ago this was nothing.