Barbara Thornton is the founder and president of InVestments, Fine Fashion Shoes, Inc.  The company includes retail, selling online under DesignerShoes.com, filling an unmet need and sell larger size women's shoes, launching in May,1997 and opening as a store on Newbury St., Boston in August, 1997.  The company also includes a wholesale division, Forgotten SOLES, opened in 2005 in response to the unreliable supply chain for women's stylish larger size shoes.  The first Forgotten SOLES collection arrived in Boston in May, 2005.  A second website, ForgottenSizes.com, launched in Fall, 2008 further reinforces the brand identity of fashion apparel in hard to find sizes.

She also serves as a town appointee on the Arlington Capital Planning committee, overseeing the Town's capital expenditures.

Ms. Thornton received her MBA at Harvard Business School in 1995.  She also has a Masters degree from Yale University and a BA from University of California, Santa Cruz.  

She brings over 30 years of planning and management experience to the launch of this business.  Her experience includes serving as Director of Planning for a state agency, extensive engagements as a consultant with local governments, health care organizations, housing and real estate companies.  She worked in the Fixed Income Division at Goldman Sachs and as a management consultant, specializing in operations, with technology companies.

She wears a size 11.5M.