Natalie Sensor is 19. She will be twenty on June 17, 2025 and is already employed full-time by M and T Bank. She is being trained and is, for the time being, a “Float Teller”. When the M and T Banks in Newfane, Bellows Falls, Putney, Wilmington, Newfane or maybe even Chester, are short a teller for a day or more due to ill-health or other reasons, Natalie fills in. In the meantime, she’s being trained by the bank to gradually move higher up in the business. When she works in Putney, she works with three other women who manage the business there, all of whom are professionals, all of whom love working together and having a very good time together and with customers. One of them referred to Natalie as “a ray of sunshine.”
Natalie was born June 17, 2005 at BMH to Matthew Sensor and Nicole Gero, both from Brattleboro. The family was living in Guilford; her Dad was Director of IT at Omega Optical. When Natalie was in kindergarten, the family suffered a life-changing accident. Nicole dove into the family swimming pool behind their home one summer’s day and suffered a debilitating accident: she was paralyzed from the chest down.
Nicole spent three years in and out of hospitals, suffering numerous medical complications. In 2015, with Natalie in 4th grade, Nicole passed away. Natalie said, “As time passed, I saw this tragedy as something I had to accept and live with. I pushed my way through.”
Natalie and her Dad bought a house in Brookline where they live today. “That meant I attended Leland and Gray High School from which I graduated in 2023, one semester early. I cannot say enough about what a great highschool it is. Stephanie Nyzio was my Ceramics One-and-Two teacher; Kevin Burke then created Ceramics 3 and business building for me. Then, with my dad's help, we set up a studio in our house in Brookline. “I have my own pottery business now. I make mugs, plates, bowls, dishware…. I sell on ETSY on the internet and through an in-store shelf at Lawrence’s Smokehouse in Townshend. I post on Facebook and Instagram. Even before I graduated from L&G, I worked at The Works Bagel and Coffee Shop on Main Street in Brattleboro. “But in December, 2023, I realized I wanted a career: a steady work schedule, benefits, opportunities to grow and develop skills. I knew I had to take a chance.
“That December I applied on-line to M and T Bank which in 2021 bought all of Peoples Bank, a vast bank here in the northeast with forty branches in Vermont alone. I had an initial on-line interview with someone in their main office. They offered me a personal interview in their Putney Branch with Hannah Wilson who grew up in Putney. Hannah is what the bank calls a Relationship Banker, one who connects directly with people who have accounts of all sorts in the Putney Branch. I see to withdrawals and deposits, educate customers about financial opportunities – that sort of thing.
“I got into banking because my grandfather, Edward Sensor from Dummerston, had been a banker his whole life. He started as a travelling teller in a Southern California bank when he was 18." He eventually returned to Vermont and became Head of Mortgage at Banknorth which became TD Bank, a Canadian Bank. (He was also the founder and CEO of Northeast Home Loan on Flat Street in Brattleboro from 2002 to 2010 when he sold it.) Because of her grandfather, several customers recognize her name.
The Putney Branch of M and T Bank is run by four women who “all get along so well." Natalie and Hannah are joined by Ariel Parker from Putney and Bridget Dews from Dummerston and Deb Borgesson from Newfane. Of Deb, Natalie says, “She is an amazing mentor and so much fun."
In part because M and T Bank encourages employees to engage in their communities, they DO. Hannah Wilson is part of a Resource Group that addresses women in leadership roles. These four engage in Green Up Vermont, LBGT Groups, Disability Advocacy Groups, Wellness and Veterans groups, and they are even encouraged by the bank to start their own advocacy groups. The bank encourages employees to volunteer in their communities. In fact, Natalie said, “They give us forty paid hours a year to enable us to volunteer for a variety of causes. The girls and I volunteered at the ski jump last February. In Newfane we help serve Senior Lunch at a church. Hannah worked at the Blood Drive last year, and M&T sponsors the Vermont City Marathon. In 2023, for example, M and T Bank gave $1,600,000 in charitable giving in Vermont.
Another point Hannah made is that the bank is aware of the high cost of college education. Natalie chose not to go to college for a number of reasons, but a key reason is that the bank will train her through any number of steps up the pay-and-skills ladders.
So what does this petite powerhouse do when she’s not working? “On winter weekends, I snowboard A LOT at Stratton. I work on my pottery in my studio and I LOVE my car. I have a 2012 Volvo S 60. It’s a Turbo six-cylinder high-performance car. I just installed a new exhaust system on it myself – Well, I had a bit of help from Robert at Scott Brooks Towing in Townshend to get it up on a lift - but I did the bulk of the work myself. I painted my brake calipers; dabbled in body work; replaced door handles…..
“And I’ve just discovered cities. Last summer I went to New York City. I fell in love with it. And Wow! The subways! And so much going on; everyone living their separate lives. I thought maybe I’ll be a banker in New York City one day! It’s all go-go-go. And I went to Montreal for New Years Eve. THAT was a steep learning curve: Everything in French. I started 2025 on a Montreal subway at midnight!"
So this writer went to the M and T website to get some background. First, I learned the CEO is an African-American. Then I read on their website what is very close to this writer’s goals for this profile series: “Everyone has a story – no two are alike. We believe that understanding and supporting what makes us all unique keeps us connected to our people and the communities we serve…. Diversity is critical to our company’s success and that of the communities we serve…. We recognize diversity and inclusion is a journey we are committed to….Partnership means more than commitment. It means taking action and encouraging others to do the same.”
And Natalie has, even at her young age, lived these lessons. She remembers her Dad saying, “You will never just get what you want; you have to go get it yourself. And now I realize I am happy because of the work I put in to make myself happy and being open to all people.”
This is one of a series of some 30 profiles of working people from southern Vermont and adjacent New Hampshire that I wrote and then published in the Brattleboro Reformer newspaper every Friday from Jan 1 - May 30. Do the same with your local newspaper.