Abby Nguyen-Burke
Senior Vice President, Team Leader
Abby has over 19 years of business and community development experience in the Boston Metro area. She is currently leading a new lending initiative focused on serving the needs of women entrepreneurs and small business owners who are people of color.
Abby is first generation Vietnamese-American. Growing up as a refugee, she prioritizes the importance of family and community, and she strives to make a meaningful and lasting impact in the community where she lives and works. Recently, she was named as one of the 2022 40 Under 40 by the Boston Business Journal as well as one of the 2022 Emerging Leaders by the American Bankers Association.
As of 2023, Abby serves as Vice-Chair for the Policy Committee for the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). In this role, she helps to lead members from 45 chapters across the country as they gather in Washington, D.C. for the 2023 Diversity and Fair Housing Summit to lobby and advocate for AAPI homeownership rights. Abby served as Chairperson for the AREAA Boston Chapter in 2021 and 2022. At Eastern, Abby has served as Co-Chair of the Asian American Professional Collective since 2012. She was formerly Board Chairperson and President of Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. for over 12 years, a volunteer teacher at Citizen Schools, Advisory Board member of Women of Means, and a volunteer for VIETAID and Dorchester House. Abby has been certified by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce with a Transformational DEI Certificate and is an alumna of The Boston Partnership. In 2014, she was named as one of the 40 under 40 by South Shore Stars, and in 2018 was named GK25 Boston’s 25 Most Influential Millennials of Color by Get Konnected!
Jason Solomon
Vice President, Relationship Manager
Jason has over seven years of banking experience and has held management roles at various financial institutions including Cambridge Trust Company and CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. With a consultative background around outsourced CFO and finance support, Jason enjoys working with clients looking for a strong banking relationship, with a particular affinity for supporting women business enterprises (WBE) and minority business enterprises (MBE). Jason joined Eastern in 2021 as part of the Equity Alliance for Business.
Currently, Jason serves as a Board Member for the University of Maine Alumni Association and is actively involved with several business networks and community organizations, providing insights and support.
Annis Gill-Miller
Vice President, Relationship Manager
A North Carolina native, Annis started her career in financial and banking services with a concentration in retail management that spread across the Greater Boston area, in management roles at various financial institutions including Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Northern Bank and Trust, and Salem Five Bank. In her current role, she leverages her retail expertise to help the business community served by Equity Alliance for Business maintain and grow their businesses.
Annis actively supports community involvement through civic engagement, leadership development, networking, and social change. She has served on the Small Business of the Year Committee for the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves as a volunteer and member of the Fundraising Committee at the YWCA Boston, a member of the Alumni Board at UMASS Boston Emerging Leaders Program, and a Board Member and former Board Chair of “e” inc.
Gisella Soriano
Vice President, Relationship Manager
Gisella has over 13 years of experience in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in small business loan underwriting, economic development, finance, accounting, and taxation. She joined Eastern in 2023 as part of the Equity Alliance for Business.
Gisella was born in Peru and migrated with her single mother to the United States at the age of ten. Armed with a passion for education, determination, diligence, and a strong work ethic, Gisella received the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship, a four-year tuition scholarship to Providence College in Rhode Island. She also holds a Certificate in Advanced Management (CAM) from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.
Gisella previously worked at the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), where she co-managed the agency’s two financing initiatives, one of which was a loan program for small businesses located in Boston. While at the BPDA, Gisella also served as a member of the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, where she successfully spearheaded the first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month event and the first Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month celebration.
Gisella is a 2021 recipient of the Advancing Latina Leaders award by Amplify Latinx and a Boston Business Journal 2022 40 Under 40 honoree.
Jose Abreu
Assistant Vice President, Relationship Manager
Jose is a business management professional with over 15 years of experience in business development, relationship, and project management across different industries in Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the United States. Jose joined Eastern Bank in 2017 as part of the consumer banking/retail team and later transitioned to the business banking team to support the small business ecosystem in Eastern’s footprint.
Jose is an active member of several Eastern employee resource groups that support communities including LGBTQIA+, young professionals, Latinos, and persons with disabilities. He serves as a mentor/coach for small business entrepreneurs and member of the Board of Advisors at Entrepreneurship for All - Merrimack Valley and Lynn, a Board Member for Daydreaming Organization, and Director of Memberships at the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) Boston. Jose is also an active member of Business Networking International in South Boston and serves as a member of the Alumni Board for AIESEC International.