Sharing a Wealth of Knowledge

A veteran in the field of wealth management and former GW swimmer, Marybeth (Kelly) Emson began to share her advice for building wealth with student-athletes at her alma mater in early 2017.

A session with Head Coach Margie Foster-Cunningham's gymnasts proved an excellent place to start.

"I just had a ball doing it," said Emson, who is a Senior Vice President with a family team of wealth advisors. "Those girls were so impressive. I got as much energy from them as I hope they got from me."

Since then, Emson has expanded her mentorship to student-athletes throughout the department, offering advice on wealth management strategies and career counsel for members of the Buff and Blue with an eye on the future.

It's especially important to her to open pathways for women interested in pursuing the field. She wants to see more women building wealth at earlier ages so that they are more financially empowered and their priorities are addressed.

"Looking at the future of my industry, I see that it needs more women's voices," said Emson, a 1989 graduate with a degree in Business Economics and Public Policy. "I feel with every fiber of my bones that my job, if I'm going to be successful, is to make sure that I do my part to get those voices at the table, and I want those voices to be as prepared and as effective as they possibly can be from day one."

This summer, Emson is working alongside a GW student-athlete for the first time as part of that on-going mission. With Emson and her colleagues continuing to operate remotely, GW rower Ananda Rae Smith was able to land a remote internship supporting the team.

It's been an enlightening experience for the rising senior learning the business of wealth management under Emson's tutelage.

"Even though I'm learning a lot about working in this industry, a lot of this information she wants me to apply to my own life as well," Smith said. "I think that's what's taking this internship to the next level for me. I'm not just learning about wealth management. I'm learning how to incorporate it into my life, as well. It's been really eye-opening to see the decisions that can be made today to better myself in 30 years."

An International Affairs and Economics double major, Smith has appreciated the opportunity to gain experience while spending her summer split between her home in Los Angeles, her grandparents' home in Denver and her new apartment in D.C.

Living on the West Coast required an early wake-up call to attend daily team meetings that began at 9 a.m. back East, but Smith has been eager to dive in on a variety of tasks around the virtual office.

"The more I'm learning about it, the more that I'm doing, the more I'm enjoying it," Smith said.

Smith's long-term project is a podcast/video series with the team's founding member, Brian J. Kelly, about building wealth. She's working together with fellow intern Liam Emson, Marybeth's son and a rising junior with GW men's soccer, to find an engaging way to cover financial topics geared toward young people.

"I think it's going to be a really cool series," Smith said. "Most of the questions are Liam and I's own questions about wealth management and how we want to learn more. Talking about cryptocurrency and Robinhood and all these new things that are happening. How does it all fit in? How does the puzzle connect? How can we be smart about our money?"

An enthusiastic participant in the GW Athletics Mentorship Program, Emson is glad that Smith responded to her email seeking interns that went out to GW student-athletes through the Student-Athlete Development Program.

"Ananda's been outstanding," Emson said. "She's just knocked the ball out of the park."

The internships runs 10 months, so Smith will continue to find time to work there around her school and rowing responsibilities throughout the fall.

She's eager to learn more and continue to build her relationship with Emson, who has offered to speak to her team about wealth management once the group gets back together for the fall semester.

"It's so admirable how much she cares," Smith said. "She's so busy with a million things on her plate, but still, she spends so much time giving back and thinks about our GW community any chance she gets."

For Emson, it's easy to put herself in the shoes of Smith and the rest of the student-athletes that she's helped. She arrived in Foggy Bottom with aspirations of a career in international law before finding her passion in wealth management as part of her family's business.

Looking back, she remembers the mistakes that she made as a college student, and she's glad to be able to share her experience and advice with the impressive next generation of future Buff and Blue alumni.

"I think the thing that I appreciate about GW student-athletes is these are kids that walk on city streets every day and they're interacting with the real world," said Emson, who earlier this year was recognized by her firm for her efforts to advance women in the workplace. (Find her on LinkedIn here.) "They're really living and breathing the opportunity that the location brings them. It reflects in their ability to interact with me and my clients, it reflects in their work ethic and it reflects in their attitudes."

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