5 minute read
DOGGED DETERMINATION Meet a Banker, Wife, Mother and Former Musher
Margot Swanson
WAS NEVER IDITAROD MATERIAL, but my youth did include mushing sled-dog teams in Alaska.
My parents got into recreational dog sledding in Alaska, where I was born and raised. They had about eight to 10 husky mixes that I helped care for as a kid, and when I was old enough, I raced a few two- and three-dog teams.
Since I was the youngest of three kids, I got the slowest dogs. I wasn’t winning any races, but I had fun.
I also enjoyed skijoring, where sled dogs attached to reins pull you on cross-country skis. Our family would take the dogs and snow machines (aka snowmobiles) on trips exploring the Alaska backcountry, often taking in a northern lights show while on our adventures.
My mom, an ICU nurse, and dad, who was in home construction, moved to Alaska from central California before I was born. My dad was a hunting and fishing enthusiast and, thinking a different occupation would afford him more time for those passions, followed my mom into nursing. Dad taught me to fish, and I love fishing in Prince William Sound, where my parents maintain a family cabin. My mom taught me the fine art of berry picking in the Alaska wilderness, particularly Alaskan blueberries, my favorite. These days, my parents split their time between Alaska and Portland, with occasional visits to a family cabin in central California.
My Alaska background is important to me. My husband, Dustin, and I are parents to one- and four-year-old kids, so we don’t get to Alaska as much as we’d like, but it’s a special trip when we do. And we always love it when mom and dad bring us fish from their Alaska catches.
I also played soccer and volleyball in high school, ran cross-country and skied cross-country (without dogs). I attended my freshman year of college at University of Alaska-Fairbanks before moving to Spokane, Washington, to attend Whitworth University, where I got a degree in business management. I then went to work for AmeriCorps for two years, first at Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Inc. then at Oregon Micro Enterprise Network, launching what amounted to about nine years in nonprofit fundraising.
I then became a development associate for what was then the Macdonald Center in Portland (now Maybelle Center for Community), which helps people through providing social connections, services and housing. Following that, I became the associate director of annual giving for Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, which is where I would go on to earn my MBA at night. I then spent three and a half years at the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation as the assistant director of development then associate director of development.
In mid-2017 and fresh off my MBA, I transitioned into banking, taking a role as relationship banking officer with another bank. I focused largely on banking for nonprofits and loved the work. I had my daughter, Zada, and then, when the pandemic hit and my husband and I were working from our Portland home (he’s a tax attorney) and juggling work and a toddler, I decided to take a career break to become a fulltime parent in 2021 and 2022. After our son, Harrison, was born, I stayed home for about five more months before realizing I missed the mental stimulation of work and the strong relationships I had built with my colleagues.
I joined Heritage Bank’s Durham office in Tigard, Oregon, in the Portland suburbs in January 2023 and love it. While my office is in Durham, I serve clients all over the Portland metro area. Several of the bankers I work with previously worked with me at my prior bank. As a vice president-relationship banking officer, I focus on nonprofit and commercial clients, helping meet their deposit and treasury management needs.
I’m definitely a relationship-driven person and that is what I honestly love about this work: building relationships with my clients. I love balancing that professional side of my life with my family life.
Like any working parent, there never seems to be enough time for everything you want to do. But as the kids get older, I hope Dustin and I can include them in more sports and adventurous outdoor activities. We’re both big sports fans: Portland Timbers, Portland Trail Blazers and San Francisco Giants (the latter is my parents’ influence). We took our kids to a Timbers game this year and lasted 20 minutes, but it was a start.
I’ve also become a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan through marriage. Dustin was raised in Montana, so we bonded through growing up in smaller towns and the love of the outdoors. His family has a cabin and cherry orchard on Flathead Lake in Montana that we enjoy visiting.
I also love cooking, reading, gardening, running and hiking…when there’s time. Life is pretty much occupied wrangling two young children. That’s where some of my Alaskan mushing experience comes in handy.
About Margot Swanson
Prior to entering the financial services industry, Margot spent nine years working in nonprofit fundraising. She appreciates that both her banking and nonprofit roles have allowed her to build strong relationships with businesses and organizations that are important to the health and vibrancy of the community. As a banker, she loves providing excellent service to her clients and creating solutions that make their banking lives easier and more efficient.
