Comerica VP Builds Banking Bridges Within Arab-American Community

At 19 years old, Dearborn resident and Lebanese immigrant Amal Berry already had her mind made up. A short stint working as an administrative assistant at the nonprofit , helping the Arab-American community, had sealed her fate: “I realized that this was something I wanted to do,” she said. “I would never allow myself to disconnect from my community again.”

Two decades later, now with the married name of Berry-Brown and two young children–she says she’s doing exactly what she intended, but in ways she never could have imagined.

Berry-Brown is a vice president and National Arab & Chaldean Affairs manager at Comerica Bank. It’s a role that didn’t always exist, and one that Berry-Brown has worked tirelessly to build.

“Part of our diversity initiatives is to make sure our employees are on board on the latest issues regarding diversity,” she explained. “We’re making sure employees are sensitive and recognize and respect colleagues–not only from our internal colleague perspective, but really from our customer base as well.”

Diversity initiatives are not something Comerica takes lightly Berry-Brown said. But working with the Arab-American community has proved challenging, given the vast cultural differences in how the Arabic community views banking.

“Lenders are taught to walk into a business deal to close that transaction,” she said. “With the (Arab-American) community, it doesn’t work that way. You have to build a relationship. They want to know about your background. They want to know who your family is, what kind of person you are.

“If they can build trust with you, they’re more willing to do business with you.”

From the other end, Berry-Brown said it’s been equally important to educate the community on banking services, including estate and retirement planning.

“In banking, you could have a lot of problems if you don’t prepare for those things,” she said. “So we try to educate the community by understanding that while we’re respectful of religious practices … in this country, it’s very important to have those records on file and ready if you need them.”

Berry-Brown’s confidence in working with the Arab-American community in banking has resulted in repeated requests for her expertise in other local nonprofits and business groups.  

She is member at-large on the executive board of ACCESS, and serves as second vice chair of the executive board of the . She also serves on the advisory council for the Arab American and Chaldean Council. Berry-Brown is also a member of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, the Arab American Institute and a patron member of the .

Most recently, she also served on the planning team for the Arab American Institute and the National Network for Arab American Communities 2011 National Leadership Conference, held Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Dearborn.

Berry-Brown said that the conference, which serves to unify the Arab American voice in the political sphere, was a successful event–but one she walked away slightly sadder than she had walked in.

“The Arab-American community is a bit disenfranchised,” she said. “We had a great deal of hope in President Obama, and some of that really hasn’t come to fruition. So in 2012, it will be interesting to see the overall stance the community takes in who they’ll be supporting, and what can be done.”

Berry-Brown is most concerned about how the national image of Arab Americans trickles down to communities like Dearborn–and what role businesses like Comerica can play in combatting stereotypes beyond its employees. It’s something she is proud to say Comerica has done well the face of mounting anti-Islamic and anti-Arab sentiments.

“Comerica could have been like every other national institution and not said anything,” she said. “We went into the community with open arms and an open heart, saying ‘We want to be a partner.’ This isn’t about getting your deposit accounts or loans. This is about creating a partnership, a relationship.”

And Berry-Brown is at the forefront of it all. Her 19-year-old self would be proud.