Sheila Appel is IBM’s US Regional Director for Corporate Citizenship Initiatives, and is responsible for leading the US team and overseeing a range of programs helping to establish IBM as a leader in a new breed of corporate philanthropy — an approach that promotes systemic social improvement largely through investments of pro bono services, employee skills and volunteerism.
Ms. Appel has spent her career in various management roles at IBM, and recognized as a key leader in her home state of New York. Sheila was appointed by the New York State Commissioner of Education to serve on the NYS Standards and Practices Board for Teaching, appointed by SUNY Chancellor to serve on the Strategic Planning Committee for Higher Education in New York State and, recognized as one of the top 100 women leaders in the Hudson Valley region. Sheila is currently Board Chair for United Way of New York State, board member of the Public Policy Institute of New York State, serves as Board Chair for the Dutchess County Workforce Investment Board, and board member of the Westchester Business Council and Women’s Enterprise Development Corporation.Sheila has been recognized for her professional and community accomplishments. She was selected by New York State Senator Steve Saland as a New York State “Woman of Distinction”; honored by the Future Business Leaders of America with the “Business Person of the Year”, YWCA Salute to Women Award, was inducted into the Dutchess Community College Hall of Fame and awarded Alumni of the Year in 2009 and received the Marist College President’s Award in 2011, for her dedicated service to the people of the Hudson River Valley and New York State.She is a graduate of Dutchess Community College and Marist College, with degrees in Business Administration and Organizational leadership certification. She lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, with her husband, and they are the proud parents of three children and four grandchildren.
