Pam Zilly

Pam Zilly first came to Martha’s Vineyard with her husband, John, in 1984. The Island has been their home away from New York City for the last 42 years. Initially spending only summer weekends but more recently six months out of the year, they enjoy the Vineyard for its scenic beauty — beaches, ocean, stone walls, trails, in particular, Little Beach, Ox Pond Meadow, Quansoo Farm, and Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary — and its spirit of community. 

Both Pam and John are engaged in supporting numerous and varied causes on the island dealing with housing, health and wellness, and conservation. Pam is a trustee of the Vineyard Preservation Trust where she first became involved in the 1990’s and then rejoined in 2024. John, a retired Morgan Stanley executive, is a Board member of Island Housing Trust and Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard.  

Pam was a senior financial services executive with more than 30 years of experience providing advice to companies in need of capital or operational restructurings. She retired as a senior managing director at The Blackstone Group L.P. in 2009. Prior to joining Blackstone in 1991, she worked for Chemical Bank. She began her investment banking career at E.F. Hutton in 1977. 

Pam majored in economics and American history at Connecticut College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude and with distinction in the major. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Industrial Administration from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

She was elected to Connecticut College’s Board of Trustees in 2005 and served as chair of the Board from 2012 to 2018. Pam recently Co-Chaired the College’s  record-breaking $317 million Capital Campaign. In 2023, following the successful conclusion of the Capital Campaign, she retired. 

An active supporter of the performing arts, Pam joined the board of the American Theatre Wing in 2012 where she serves as a Tony Award voter, a member of the Executive Committee, and chair of the Finance and Investment Committees. In 2019, she joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Board of Trustees, where she is a member of the Executive Committee and serves as chair of the Investment Committee.