MarySue Barrett

MarySue Barrett is a super-connector. Through MSB Policy Consulting, she actively shares her knowledge and network to help institutions achieve outsized results. Her energy, make-it-happen attitude, and enthusiasm are contagious.

MarySue is thrilled to dedicate most of her time as Senior Vice President for Programming & Partnerships for a new Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay in southeast Wisconsin. She is a key advisor to founder Ann Drake, organizing impactful convenings to ensure that women are at the forefront of solving global problems. She cultivates partnerships with think tanks, women’s leadership organizations, and universities on Bold Ideas such as harnessing AI to reduce environmental harms.

In addition, MarySue advises M. Harris & Kern, a full-service marketing firm, and has a long-time affiliation with the Brookings Institution’s Metro Program as a Nonresident Senior Fellow.

MarySue draws on a notable track record as a policy changemaker. For 25 years, she was President of the independent Metropolitan Planning Council. Earlier, she served in Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Administration as Chief of Policy. She’s nourished her passion for learning from other cities through seven international leadership exchanges, including one sponsored by the International Women’s Forum.