Nazareth Alumna Gail Evans Establishes Scholarship to Assist College's HEOP Program

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Gail Evans

ROCHESTER, NY (07/27/2016)(readMedia)-- Nazareth College alumna Gail Evans credits the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) with her decision to attend college, and now she is giving back with a $25,000 gift to Nazareth College to provide scholarships and other opportunities that will enhance the Nazareth College experience for HEOP students.

The Louise Evans Scholarship pays tribute to the life of her mother, Louise Evans, who was the rock in Gail's life, providing her with leadership, moral character, and a willingness to help others. In the spirit of that influence, it is Gail's intent to operationalize these values through supporting students at Nazareth College.

Growing up in Rochester, New York, as one of six, Gail excelled academically and athletically at Benjamin Franklin High School. Upon enrolling at Nazareth, her experiences as a HEOP student, helped shape her life trajectory.

"Had it not been for HEOP I would not have gone to college," said Evans. "HEOP enabled me to leave home and do something different than my peers. My mother wanted something better for her kids - and HEOP enabled her to do this without having the money. I am now doing what God and my mom want me to do -paying it forward."

Gail, a 1986 graduate of Nazareth College, currently serves as the Global Information Officer at Mercer, a consulting firm focused on talent, health, retirement and investments. At Mercer, Gail will lead the company's technology strategy, transformation and innovation. Prior to Mercer, Evans was an executive at Microsoft.

She started her career in Rochester at Eastman Kodak Company where she was actively involved with the digital transformation and web first strategies with the company. Evans led the global consumer and small business banking e commerce application development team at Bank of America. She directed the HP.com team of over 400 technical members to deliver the most ambitious website redesign project in the history of HP.