Elizabeth Y.A. Ferguson

Elizabeth Y.A. Ferguson is Managing Director of Drexel Oceania, a specialized merchant bank based in San Francisco. She was formerly Managing Director of the Bay Area Family of Funds and Executive Vice President at the Bay Area Council.

Ms. Ferguson joined the Bay Area Council in January 2002 as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Bay Area Family of Funds.  She managed three private equity funds with over $175 million:  the Bay Area Equity Fund, the Bay Area Smart Growth Fund I, and the California Environmental Redevelopment Fund.  A fourth fund, Bay Area Smart Growth Fund II, has been launched. The Family of Funds are “double bottom line” funds created to deliver market rates of return, and at the same time, significant economic, social and environmental returns to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods of the Bay Area.

Prior to joining the Bay Area Council, Ms. Ferguson was a financial executive with Bank of America for over twenty years.  She most recently served as Managing Director and Head of Marketing for Bank of America’s Global Corporate and Investment Bank.  Ms. Ferguson’s broad background in financial services includes management positions with Bank of America in the U.S. and Asia, with industry expertise in technology, energy, construction, manufacturing and consumer products.  She has held senior roles in corporate and investment banking, strategic planning, marketing, and finance.

Ms. Ferguson is a native of San Francisco and a resident of the Bay Area.  Ms. Ferguson is a summa cum laude graduate of UC Berkeley with a B.A. in political science and has an MBA from Stanford Business School.  She serves as Board Chairman of California-Asia Business Council, on the San Francisco Bay Area Advisory Board of U.S. Bank, and on the boards of the Alliance for Community Development, On Lok, Inc., and Summerbridge.