Bonnie Barsamian Dunn ’86 was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2023. She is a trusted advisor and market-recognized former law firm partner with decades of experience advising public and private companies, financial institutions, investment banks, private equity sponsors and others in capital markets, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactional and advisory matters. Also a veteran counselor to boards of directors and C-suites across a range of strategic, corporate governance and sensitive matters, she is well versed in the business, financial, operational and legal challenges that face management and boards, and the impact of transformative transactions.
Formerly a partner at Clifford Chance and also at some of the nation’s other largest global law firms, Barsamian built and led successful law firm capital markets/securities practice groups and served as Global Co-Head of Corporate Finance at Dechert LLP, and as Chair of the Capital Markets & Securities Team at Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP. Regularly ranked as one of the top capital markets lawyers in the United States, she served as an expert commentator to major media, was a member of Law360’s Capital Markets Editorial Advisory Board and has authored numerous publications.
Nominated by President Obama to serve on the board of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) in 2016, Barsamian also was vetted and shortlisted in 2018 as a candidate for federal nomination as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner. Among other recognitions, she was selected to the Crain’s New York Business 2019 “Notable Women in Law” list and received Global M&A Network’s 2019 “Top USA Women Dealmakers” award.
Barsamian Dunn currently serves on the board of directors of Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), a charitable organization focused on general relief, education and economic development programs in Armenia, and previously served on the board of trustees of the Emma Willard School, among other nonprofit boards.
She graduated from Amherst with a B.A. in economics and English, and spent a semester at The London School of Economics and Political Science while an Amherst student. She received a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School, where she was a member of The University of Chicago Law Review. She was an inaugural member of Yale School of Management’s Women on Boards executive program.
She is married to Daniel Dunn ’85 and resides in New York City.