Women of Distinction 2016 - Shelley R. Sylva

Shelley R. Sylva, Esquire

Shelley R. Sylva earned her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law. Shelley is a trained litigator who transitioned to public service early in her career. Shelley’s public service career began in the affordable housing industry where she worked at the fourth largest public housing authority in the United States.

Shelley’s career at the Philadelphia Housing Authority (“PHA”) began in the legal department where she worked on lease enforcement and tenancy matters.  She was also responsible for managing outside counsel who handled complex litigation matters on behalf of PHA.  After two years in the legal department, Shelley developed a reputation for being a strategic thinker who could work across various businesses and was promoted to the Director of Quality Assurance. In that role she was required to identify compliance issues, determine solutions and provide executive leadership with the necessary recommendations to address any deficiencies that existed. She was promoted to PHA’s first Chief of Staff because of her superior organizational skills and communication skills. As Chief of Staff she organized and participated in all leadership team meetings and strategic planning initiatives. Shelley was responsible for building relationships within and outside of the organization.   Finally, Shelley was promoted to Assistant Executive Director Administration (Chief Operations Officer), where all administrative units and their Executive reported to her including Human Resources, the Executive Office, Government Relations, IT and Communications.

Shelley's operational abilities, regulatory expertise and analytical skills positioned her well to transition to the financial services industry.  In June 2013 Shelley was recruited to join TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank to serve as their first Vice President, Senior Manager of Legal Operations and Governance.  Shelley's mandate at TD is expansive and she is a key member of the General Counsel's team.  At TD Shelley is responsible for the entire sphere of operations for the US Legal team that sits in 6 locations on the east coast.  Shelley's ability to work across various business lines serves the Global Legal Department well as she has a reputation as someone who can get things done.  During her time at TD Shelley has directly implemented several process improvements including automating all onboarding processes, streamlining the new business and product approval process and creation of a gap analysis protocol for new and changed laws that directly impact the operations of the legal department.

Shelley has been able to cultivate her passion for Diversity and Inclusion at TD, and currently serves as a member of the Minority Leadership Subcommittee which steers and directs D & I initiatives throughout the US Bank.   She co-chairs the Communications subcommittee for the MLS and serves on several Compliance, Legal, AML, D & I Committees.  Most recently Shelley championed the "Count Me in Campaign" a bank wide campaign which encouraged employees to self-identify.  In the first quarter of 2015 Shelley was a WOW award winner which is the highest quarterly recognition given to any bank employee.