As Rondout Savings Bank’s 14th President and CEO and first woman President and CEO in its over 150-year history, Cheryl Bowers has been an integral part of Rondout’s Executive Leadership Team since 2008, after joining the mutual bank in 2001 as a founding Business Banking Department Team member. She has a strong track record of supporting technological advancements, strengthening consumer and business relationships, and developing high-performance teams built on trust, integrity, and empowerment. Additionally, she creates a culture of goal setting, coaching, and mentoring that supports employee growth and strategic initiative execution.

As an accomplished financial industry leader with over 40 years of banking experience in various areas, including Executive Leadership, Commercial and Retail Banking, Branch Management, and Marketing, Cheryl has a deep commitment and passion for developing female leaders and promoting diversity in the financial services industry. She is a founding member of the New York Bankers Association Women’s Leadership Conference, where she regularly speaks, moderates, and participates as a panelist.  She has served as a panelist at SUNY, New Paltz Women’s Leadership Summit, and a Session Speaker at the “Own It” Conference, hosted by Entrepreneurial Studies at SUNY, Ulster.

Cheryl is dedicated to civic participation and volunteerism. She serves on the boards of the American Bankers Association, SUNY Ulster Foundation, New York Bankers Association,  the Boys and Girls Club of Ulster County,  and the Kingston Lions Club.   Cheryl is a Past Board Chair of the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce and a past board member of Vassar Brothers Medical Center.
In recognition of her community commitment and professional achievements, she is a past honoree of the YWCA Tribute to Women and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and Volunteer of the Decade award given by Gateway Community Industries. In April of 2018, she was named Businessperson of the Year and was inducted into the SUNY New Paltz Business Hall of Fame, was the 2018 honoree at the annual SUNY Ulster Community College Foundation Gala, and was awarded Woman of the Year, and was the 2019 recipient of the United Way of Ulster County Raising Hope award. Cheryl was a 2021 Athena Award Honoree, the Ulster Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Champion in 2023, and the recipient of the Moma Award by Seasoned Gives.  In 2025, she was honored by My Kingston Kids as the Community Spirit honoree.

Cheryl is a high honors graduate from the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, and attended Wharton Business School, where she earned her Leadership Certificate. She is also a graduate of the Dutchess Chamber Foundation’s Executive Leadership program.