Wendell K. Chestnut

Wendell served as the first President of Pride In Our Workplace (PIOW) and currently serves as a Board Member.  

Wendell and Bank of America were a part of the inaugural group of companies that formed PIOW along with Fidelity, State Street, and Price Waterhouse Coopers.  He is an avid champion for LGBTQ+ rights and works professionally and personally to ensure equality for all marginalized communities.  He works with the PIOW Board to ensure a network is being created to support LGBTQ+ employees throughout the Commonwealth within their working environments as well as championing the PIOW mission!

When he is not volunteering for PIOW, Wendell works as a Market Manager within Business Banking at Bank of America.  There, he manages a team of relationship managers who work to support commercial clients with revenues greater than $10mm throughout the various communities that the bank serves. Prior to Business Banking, Wendell was the Northern New England Market Executive for Small Business Banking.  

Wendell possesses a strong background in business development & strategy, client management, credit analysis, sales, and banking fundamentals.  He also Co-Chaired the Northeast Executive Council and sat on the Global Commercial Bank’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, where he chaired the Recruiting subcommittee.  Throughout his 25-year banking career at Bank of America, Wendell has served in many capacities from his current role in Business Banking to Director of Planning & Operations of Capital Markets, Manager of Marketing Communications in the Commercial Development Group, Research Analyst in Bank of America’s Investment Advisors, and College Relations Manager in Corporate Employment.  

Wendell has served on several local boards and committees in the following capacity – Board of MassMentoring, Board of Overseers for Beth Israel Hospital, serving on the Finance Committee; Board of the University Club of Boston; Member of the local arm of the Point Foundation; Past Co-Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Student Education Network (GLSEN) Boston; most recently, he was Executive Advisor for the Bank’s LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Professionals Group employee networks.  

Wendell was born in Philadelphia, PA.  Wendell received a B.A. degree in English with a minor in Women’s Studies from Williams College.  He also gained his graduate and leadership degrees from Stonier School of Banking and Wharton.  He is an accomplished squash player and is recognized for being the first black All-American intercollegiate squash player.  He is also an avid sports fan!

Wendell is married to his husband of eleven years, Zane Bell, who graduated from Boston Architectural College.  Prior to going back to college for his degree in Architecture, Zane worked at a Boston-based real estate management company.  He has also been a small business owner prior to going into real estate investments.