Women To Watch 10.12.25 - Flipbook - Page 16
Kimberly Prescott
48, founder, Prescott HR
Kimberly Prescott didn’t intend to break into the human
resources industry. But realized she enjoyed the field and
its close relationship to the legal world, eventually starting
her own business.
Prescott originally wanted to be a lawyer, joining the Air
Force to achieve that dream. Her plans changed when she
was medically discharged and began working for a temp
agency, a place where she first started looking at resumes
and doing recruiting.
After having her daughter, Prescott realized she didn’t
want to work at a large corporation. Instead, she began
thinking about starting her own company.
Since then, Prescott said she’s learned to take chances
and to take advantage of opportunities.
“Because you don’t know when they’re going to come,
you don’t know what they’re going to be, but being open
to saying ‘yes’ when those opportunities come,” she said.
Through any challenge, Prescott works hard to persevere, “What I bring to the table is what I bring to the table.
If you are unable to hear because of the package that it
came in, that is your loss,” Prescott said. “And that is part of
the reason why our tagline is ‘Unintimidated HR,’ because
we’re going to tell you what you need to know and not
what you want to hear.”
— Kiersten Hacker
Ellen Fish
63, market president, Atlantic Union Bank,
Baltimore and Western Maryland regions
Ellen Fish’s goals are twofold: to fund the growth of area businesses and to boost the number of women in her workplace. Her
passions run deep; you can bank on it.
“I truly enjoy helping [commercial] clients and strengthening
their communities,” said Fish, senior market leader for the Baltimore and Western Maryland regions of Atlantic Union (nee Sandy
Spring) Bank.
For 30 years, the Lutherville resident and her team have helped
finance the growth of hundreds of companies, ranging from contractors to medical professionals and law firms, while guiding them
through their expansion. Her keen eye has approved loans of several
thousand dollars and of several hundred million.
“We’re a bank for all people,” said Fish, who has a business degree
from Virginia Tech.
She has served on the advisory boards of more than a dozen civic
and education organizations. She is currently a governor-appointed
member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. All
of which make Fish a role model for like-minded women.
“I work in a male-dominated industry,” she said. “I know people
watch me because I’m often the minority in the room. There are so
few [women in finance] that I feel a responsibility to inspire others,
to help them break barriers.”
— Mike Klingaman
LLOYD FOX/STAFF PHOTOS
16 | 2025 | WOMEN TO WATCH
