Women's History Month: Q&A with Gretchen Ehle

In celebration of Women's History Month, Grand Archon Tess Stovall sits down with a series of Phi Sigma Sigma sisters to share their stories, advice and how our sisterhood made a lasting impact in their lives. Read more stories, here.

Gretchen Ehle is an alumna of the Kappa Chapter at The George Washington University. Professionally, she has over 20 years of experience in international affairs and currently serves at the Chief Finance and Revenue Officer at Atlantic Council, leading finance, compliance, and revenue generation initiatives to advance global policy and program objectives.

When I was a collegian at GW, Gretchen was a chapter alumna in the local area and often came back to provide support as a volunteer. She was one of my first examples of what the Phi Sig experience could look like beyond college and inspired me to seek out opportunities to remain involved after graduation. Over the years I've watched Gretchen serve the Fraternity in numerous roles as well as skyrocket in her professional career. While she has scaled back her volunteering due to professional demands, she is a great example of an involved alumna sister, always willing to lean in where needed and help a sister out whether that's with professional advice, helping make a connection or just by being a good friend.

Tess Stovall: You were part of the founding class during the Kappa Chapter’s re-establishment. Tell me about that experience.   

Gretchen Ehle:  I grew up in a very rural community and was a high achiever throughout my high school career. I then came to George Washington University in the heart of a big city, surrounded by top students from across the country. It was a big change and university challenged me initially in terms of finding myself and how to engage.

My freshman year I went through recruitment with no real idea of what to expect as a first-generation college student. Ultimately, I didn’t match with any of the groups on campus at the time. The next year, Phi Sigma Sigma was re-establishing at GW, and I realized that was my chance to get involved and find my niche on campus. I recall meeting Kim Hildred, Judith Distler, Josette George and Dotti Shields, sisters who were D.C.-based and came in to conduct the interview process. I was selected to join as part of the chapter’s re-establishment and quickly felt like I was at home. As soon as that happened, the university experience took on a new meaning for me.

I didn’t feel ready to run for executive board, but took on the position of founders’ chair, or something like that, where I was responsible for the rituals and requirements related to our re-establishment and installation. Through this role I gained a lot of confidence and got to work with a lot of members, not only in our chapter but also the chapter consultants – Lucy Ruiz and Wendy Lau – and local volunteers. The relationships I built were tremendous and many of these women are still part of my life today!

TS: Let’s dive into that a little bit more. Can you tell me about a Phi Sigma Sigma sister who had a significant influence on your life?

GE: I tell this story quite often – I remember the day I met Diane (Grzyb) Lebson. It was during the time when our chapter was re-establishing at GW, we were having a meeting on campus and Diane joined to share a little bit about what the Kappa Chapter used to be like as she had been part of the chapter five years prior when it closed. She would visit with us every so often and share stories about her experiences, her sisters and how they remained connected. And while we weren’t active at the same time there have been threads in our lives that have intersected so many times since we first met that day that we’ve become lifelong friends!

We realized we were in the same PHD program at George Mason and became study partners. We found ourselves working in the same industry and with five years of professional experience already under her belt, I looked to her for a lot of professional advice over the years. As I joined the Junior League of Northern Virginia, she was just finishing her time there. And then when I moved to Washington, she immediately introduced me to her Junior League cohort here. I’ve hired her as a consultant for fundraising and she's been a real mentor to me, helping me through a big career transition. So, our lives both personally and professionally have intersected a lot over the years and it’s just been so great to see how strong of a friendship has developed from that small initial connection.

TS: What a special relationship! It goes to show just how important sister connections can be, and not just with those sisters who you share an active experience with. You’ve clearly stayed in touch with sisters across the years, how else have you remained connected to Phi Sigma Sigma?

GE: Right after graduation I jumped into advising and became the chapter key advisor for our chapter at American University. I was in that role for four or five years doing a lot of different things with the chapter and other volunteers at the local level. After a number of other roles, I then joined the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation Board of Directors for four years. This role grew understanding from the grantor perspective, something that gave me an advantage in my professional career. I now work at an organization where we receive grants and having the knowledge of how the grant process worked from a fundraising perspective has been a huge advantage.

I also served on the nominating committee for the Supreme Council. And here’s another example of the Phi Sig connections that have weaved through my life! I had become friends with Wendy Lau when she was a consultant working with the Kappa Chapter during its re-establishment. Wendy went on to hold many other volunteer roles in Phi Sig and ultimately joined Supreme Council. The year that I was on the nominating committee, Wendy had termed out of her role as director, and we needed a strong candidate for grand vice archon – finance. This was not long after the Supreme Council model shifted from each role being a subject matter expert to a governance focused board.

I remember having a conversation with Wendy about running for the role of grand vice archon – finance but she was hesitant as she didn’t have a finance background. I said to her, “let’s go through the position description together,” and we sat down and walked through the role and talked about how her skill set met the needs, even without a formal finance and accounting background. Her exceptional strategic thinking, coupled with her keen ability to identify patterns and potential issues, would allow her to quickly grasp the financial landscape, while her unwavering commitment to our core values provided a strong sense of purpose and direction. Additionally, influential nature and talent for recognizing and uniting the unique strengths of others would help drive collaborative success.

Ironically, two and half years ago I was promoted to a position of chief finance officer at my organization, without having a formal accounting and finance background. When presented with the opportunity I took some time to think about it and I went back to this conversation I had with Wendy, so it all came full circle.

In recent years, I haven’t been as engaged because of my career requirements, but I try to make myself available to share my insights from the field and always been a support to my fellow sisters including serving as a mentor in Phi Sigma Sigma's Mentor Program a few years back. My protege has  now joined the Junior League of Washington, and works in a similar field as I do. I feel passionately that it is important to give back to organizations from which I benefitted and that motivates me to continue to find opportunities to give back to Phi Sigma Sigma in various ways.

TS: You shared some great examples of how Phi Sigma Sigma and the skills you’ve gained through your continued involvement also benefit your professional growth. Can you tell us more about how Phi Sigma Sigma has given you an edge in the professional world?

GE: Phi Sigma Sigma provides great leadership opportunities to learn practical skills such as understanding budgeting, how to run a meeting and conflict resolution. I’ve met executives who have never learned parliamentary procedures, meanwhile we’ve been practicing this since we were teenagers. These are unique skills that as Phi Sigma Sigma women we can bring to the table and set us apart. Additionally, Phi Sigma Sigma provides the social and philanthropic piece that companies and organizations are looking for in their staff.

I also can’t understate the importance of how Phi Sigma Sigma gave me the confidence needed to succeed. Having a safe environment to grow my leadership skills and sisters there to support me was instrumental in building confidence. It gave me the ability to say, I can do this, just the same as anybody can do this, it doesn't matter what my background was, it doesn't matter where I came from or what I did or didn’t have. It showed me that I bring value and I think that was absolutely the driver of my success.

TS: I’d love to hear more about your career. Can you share a highlight from your professional journey?

GE: From strictly a career perspective, being asked to step into the role of chief financial officer at my current company without a CPA or accounting degree, but with the trust of the CEO and COO was very impactful. They felt confident that my strategy and skillset – many of which I gained outside of my career through my volunteer work and board service with Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation and the Junior League – made me the right candidate for the position.

On a more personal note, I used to do a lot of travel and global capacity building, most of which was in Africa. Recently a Facebook memory popped up from a time I was running a four-week soccer program in Africa focused on getting kids off the street and out of drugs and alcohol and instead focused on beneficial activities like soccer. We had a team of over 500 coaches there to help with the technical skills of the support, but the program was also focused on how to lead social improvements in the community. At the end of the trip as we were heading back to the airport, we had some time to fill and as we were driving, we came across a handful of kids playing in a field. There were about 40 kids ranging in age from five to about 11- or 12-years old kicking around a ball made from plastic bags.  We pulled over and one of the collegiate soccer coaches I was with said, “Let's just stop the car and get out and kick the ball around.” And we did. We sang songs with the kids and we an impromptu mini training. The soccer equipment we had been driving around with, we left it all there for these kids. I’ll never forget the joy on their faces – on all our faces! Looking back on that memory made me realize that’s the kind of work I want to get back to. Sitting behind a desk and approving finance might be a big job with an important title, but it’s not where my passion is. And that helped me realize it’s time to make another pivot in my career.