“I love the person I’ve become because I fought to become her!”
Sophia Gilkes is a proud Mount Vernon native that has taken all Mount Vernon has taught her to the corporate world and has had much success and is still on the rise. She graduated from Mount Vernon High School top of her class, went on to The University of Tampa in Tampa, FL earning a Bachelor of Science in Finance. Born into a strong island family that migrated to the US, Sophia was the first to receive a formal college education in the US and knew the pressure was on to conquer as her father and now deceased mother would accept nothing less.
Sophia attributes much of whom she is today to “her village” in Mount Vernon, her grind, her humility, her tenacity, all from Mount Vernon and her family. At a young age she worked for Mount Vernon Youth Bureau through Safe Places Program with wonderful, strong, and nurturing women that sowed into her.
A strong believer in “giving back” Sophia sows into young women today through volunteering as the previous co-director of MindShapers Youth Outreach Program in New Rochelle, serving as a mentor with Girls, Inc. and serving on the board of several nonprofits.
These days Sophia has over 15 years of experience within the Wealth Management sector of the financial services industry and is the Complex Business Service Officer, Vice President at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management managing over 330 people and overseeing about 26 Billion in assets within the Northern New Jersey Complex. Sophia serves on the National Business Service Managers Council, is a member of The Wealth Management Multicultural Networking Group, the Women’s Business Alliance and a participant in E-Women’s Network of Westchester. She lives in Westchester with her husband and very busy 3 year old son.