Kendall (Fisher) Cammermyer’s journey from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s class of 1988 reads like a tale of bold choices and constant motion. While she excelled in her classes, played tennis, and enjoyed being a Minnesinger and actor in the school plays, it’s the lasting friendships from those years that she treasures most.
At Wellesley College, she chose to major in economics. As we talked, it seems that Kendall was always working, whether it was taking extra courses, singing with the Blue Notes, or working on the Vineyard every summer.
Then, facing student loans, her plan to take a post-college gap year morphed into working as a temporary assistant at Fidelity Investments in Boston. This detour proved pivotal, igniting her passion for the law.
From there, she earned a law degree at Cornell Law School, and championed causes through her work with the Cornell Legal Aid Clinic and the American Indian Law Student group. After graduation, Kendall practiced law in Boston with Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, receiving outstanding mentoring, and working on labor and employment litigation.
However, she soon wanted a change to achieve a better work-life balance. Before roots in Boston grew too deep, Kendall decided to join her high school mate, Dulcie Rutherford, in California, doing corporate legal work for the next few years. But then Seattle called, and she couldn’t resist. Five transformative years in commercial litigation at Stoel Rives, a Seattle law firm, set the stage for her current location: Puget Sound Energy (PSE).
Twenty-two years later, Kendall serves as PSE’s chief ethics and compliance officer. PSE seems to be a cutting-edge leader in clean energy, shaping Washington’s sustainable future, so it doesn’t surprise me that Kendall would work with such a company. Along the way, she did cultivate that elusive social life: She married a fellow Cornell grad, and now has two grown kids. Kendall is an amazing woman who has always worked too much and too hard, but has accomplished so much — and that, Kendall, is a good thing! You sure make our Island proud!
Marge Harris was a teacher at MVRHS for 27 years. You can contact her at margeharris@comcast.net. This column appears twice a month.