Title: Director, Regional Manager
Firm: Fitch Ratings
Age: 39
As Ashlee Gabrysch wrapped up her bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary Slavic studies at the University of Chicago, she realized she might need to change her career plan.
She observed the poverty and tensions in her community and decided that a Ph.D. and career in the ivory rower wouldn't be fulfilling for her.
"So I tried a lot of different things, and then eventually I found myself back at the University of Chicago, but this time, at the Harris School of Public Policy," Ashlee said, which "married my love of analytical rigor [with] providing evidence-based practices and tools to try to solve societal issues."
Ashlee took jobs analyzing public finance at the Civic Federation, the Cook County Chief Financial Officer's office and the Illinois State Treasurer's office before landing at Fitch's Chicago office as an analyst covering tax-supported local government credits.
Last year, Fitch promoted Ashlee to Midwest regional manager, where she assembled a team of analysts, which she considers one of her proudest accomplishments.
"I'm developing a team of people analytically, as well as professionally, who then can ask hard and probing questions, respectfully, and understand the complexities of what our local governments do," she said. Ashlee considers her unconventional background an asset in her career.
Ashlee won a global award from Fitch for creating study groups and a curriculum to help public finance analysts pass the company's internal exams.
She serves on the board of the Chicago chapter of Women in Public Finance, the steering committee of the Chicago chapter of Fitch's Women's Network and the Global Policy Chair for the Fitch Women's Network Global Steering Committee.
She also serves on the organizing committee for the Harris School of Public Policy Class of 2013 reunion and on the National Federation of Municipal Analysts' DEI Committee.
This past year, Ashlee mentored female high school students as part of the six-week Rock the Street Wall Street, organized volunteer events at local non-profits for Fitch's global volunteer week and served on a Chicago Municipal Analysts Society panel "A Day in the Life of a Municipal Analyst" at the Harris School.
"I really value individuals who come from non-traditional backgrounds, who bring with them a different skill set and a different experience," Ashlee said. "I think that diversity of experiences, of backgrounds, of cultures really does enhance teams."
