Dawn Pruett

For Dawn Pruett, 2022 was a big year. She was promoted to president of Bank of Jackson Hole—making her one of only a few female bank presidents in Wyoming—and then went through the bank’s acquisition by National Bank Holdings Corporation. This year’s big news for Pruett is of the personal kind: The 52-year-old Green River, Wyoming, native is going to become a grandmother; the middle of her three daughters is scheduled to give birth to Matthew on June 21. “We have not had a boy in my family in 47 years,” says Pruett, who’s thinking she’ll have her grandson call her “Gigi.”

Pruett moved to Jackson Hole in 2007, and no, it wasn’t for the skiing, it was a job transfer. In addition to work and community, Pruett, whose first banking job was in 1999, as associate to the bank president at American National Bank, found a husband here. Michael Pruett is a real estate agent with Keller Williams. The couple shares a love for travel—this past winter they went to Costa Rica; a future trip is to Israel—and also for their golden retriever, Caleb.

Q: There’s a saying, “Jackson Hole is in Wyoming, but not of Wyoming.” Moving here from “real Wyoming,” did you find Jackson Hole to be a culture shock?

DP: It was a big culture shock. In Green River I knew everybody. It was a huge “village,” a huge network, and more of a blue collar community. Moving here, the awareness of health and mental fitness and self-care was really unknown to me in a lot of ways. And that was enlightening to me—to see how much better you live and feel when you prioritize health.

Q: How long did it take you to feel like a local after you moved here?

DP: Sally Rogers, a bank colleague and longtime Jacksonite, she was a dynamo. She literally took me to every event, every nonprofit, every local thing: the Chicken Fry, Teton Science Schools, the Library Party. I felt a part of the community really quickly. And I was thankful for that.