Laura Clark and Andrea Walsh have been elected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ board of directors for terms beginning January 1, 2025. Elections are held in accordance with the Federal Reserve Act and under the direction of the board’s chair, Chris Hilger.
The Minneapolis Fed’s nine directors represent a cross section of the Ninth District. Class A directors are elected to the board by member banks to represent member banks. Class B and C directors represent the public and the many sectors of the economy. Class B directors are elected to the board by member banks, while Class C directors are appointed by the Board of Governors, which also designates the board’s chair and deputy chair from among its three appointees.
Laura Clark was elected by member banks to serve as a Class A director. Clark is president and CEO of Opportunity Bank based in Helena, Montana, where she has worked since 2014. She is a graduate of Montana State University Billings. Class A directors are elected to the board by member banks to represent member banks.
Andrea Walsh was elected by member banks to serve as a Class B director. Walsh is president and CEO of HealthPartners, based in Bloomington, Minnesota, where she has worked since 1994. Prior to joining HealthPartners, she practiced law and was an assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Health. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Minnesota Law School. Class B directors are elected by member banks to represent the public and the many sectors of the economy, and cannot be employees or officers of a bank.
Each was elected for a standard three-year term. Clark and Walsh succeed outgoing directors Jeanne Crain and Sarah Walsh, whose terms expired at the end of 2024.
The responsibilities of directors are broad, ranging from overseeing the general operations of the Minneapolis Fed to reporting on district economic conditions. This information helps prepare the Minneapolis Fed president for participation in Federal Open Market Committee meetings, where decisions are made about monetary policy. For more information and to see all serving directors, visit the Board of Directors page.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations, and provides a variety of payments services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.