Jeretha Peters leads Albany’s growth as first black woman to be Albany Area Chamber chair

ALBANY — Jeretha Peters likes to tell people that the city of Albany chose her.

The Savannah native said she always saw herself eventually returning to the coastal Georgia city. However, as she made her way through grade school, Darton College, Albany State University and began her career in banking, opportunities arose that made her stay.

“People saw things in me that I didn’t quite see in myself,” Peters said.

She was the first sixth-grader to return to Sherwood School and deliver a speech to graduating fifth-graders. She was often the first woman and first black person in the room at regional financial conferences, she said. She became the first black female chair of the Albany Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors on Jan. 1.

It’s a title she isn’t taking lightly. There’s something to be said about being the first, Peters said.

“I look at staying in an industry that’s dominated by men as a responsibility, not to me, but to those who are going to come after me, to create space for them so they can succeed and go beyond where I am,” she said.

Peters, who is the branch manager at Albany’s Wells Fargo Advisors, said she never saw herself in business, much less serving as the chair of the Albany Chamber Board.

The Wells Fargo branch manager attended ASU with a full scholarship, originally studying psychology. A mentor at the SunTrust Bank, which she had worked at since she was 16 through the Dougherty School System’s Work-Based Learning program, first suggested she consider a career in the field.

At her core, Peters said she likes to serve. After taking business classes in college, she grew to love the work. Through financial advising, she saw the opportunity to serve others — focusing on women and minorities — doing the kind of work she loved.

She said she especially wanted to help women gain financial understanding and confidence in managing and investing their money.

Peters talked about moving away from Albany after reaching the 10-year mark of her career, but a friend posed a question to her that made her reconsider.

“He says … ‘What if everybody good leaves? What will we do then? I know I’m only one person and I can’t solve all the problems or issues, but I don’t have to leave to create a good life,” Peters said. “I can create it wherever I am. I’ve been blessed to be able to create a life I want right here in Albany, Georgia.”

Now, as she prepares for the next year as chair of the Chamber of Commerce, Peters said she envisions an Albany laid with the foundations for growth long after she is gone. Peters believes recognizing and embracing the community’s unique strengths will elevate it on a regional and national scale. Leveraging Albany’s natural resources, harnessing local talent, and leaning into Albany’s military community are just some of her focuses.

Peters joined the Chamber Board in 2019 after her daughters went to college. She wanted to invest more time in the Albany community, she said. She’s contributed to many initiatives of the Chamber to support and uplift local women in business.

The Chamber holds luncheons, networking opportunities and panels from women professionals through its PROPEL program. Deb Angerami, the CEO of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, was the keynote speaker for a September event.

Peters heard feedback from some of the more than 125 attendees.

“It gave women the courage to be themselves,” she said. “Hearing her story and her journey and how successful she is, all while being authentic, gave people the permission they needed to say, ‘Hey, I can make mistakes. I don’t have to be perfect.’”

The Chamber Board also supports young girls through volunteering with Albany’s 4C Academy, an innovation and industry education opportunity for youths. It pairs students with professional mentors and, through Propel Plus, the Chamber provides a developmental series and one-on-one conversations with girls on a quarterly basis, Peters said.

These programs are a great opportunity for local women and young girls involved in and interested in business to collaborate, Peters said. Hearing from professionals also inspires.

“They can reflect on seeing that somebody else did it, and it helps encourage them to grow,” she said.

Peters encourages young girls to remain open and follow their core values and passions.

“Lean into what you’re passionate about, and it’ll put you in the space you need to be in,” she said.

Women are dominating the business sector in Albany, Peters said. The chamber sees supporting them as an opportunity for retention of the city’s population.

As Peters takes on her new Chamber Board Chair position, she says she wants to enhance these programs and more.

She wants to expand Propel to meet more frequently than quarterly. She sees opportunities for industry-specific workshops and series. She also wants to grow the chamber’s Flex ABY program, a youth entrepreneurship program that launched in fall 2022. Students learn to write out business plans and seek funding for their business ventures.

Peters said she also wants to tap into the Good Life City’s military and veteran populations, which she said, is continuing to grow. There is a huge opportunity to grow and sustain Albany for a military population, she said.

“I’ve been to other military communities that have some of the same resources,” Peters said. “I would like to see us embrace that community more so we can collaborate and work toward a shared vision that will be prosperous for them as well.”

Peters never saw herself as a business leader, but she was always ambitious. She wishes she could go back and tell herself to live in the moment more. She wonders what makes her special.

She stands tall at just shy of six feet — something she said she hated throughout school. However, now she sees it as God’s way of making her visible and able to project as a speaker and leader.

The Chamber Board Chair also stands out as a leader who believes in Albany, she said, adding that great things can come out of the city.

She reflected on friends who visit and marvel at the resources, like the Flint River, that the city has to offer, resources that their own cities don’t have, she said.

“If we can recognize the great place that it is and the potential it has … we can recreate that awe and wonder that people from afar see,” Peters said. “We have to believe it ourselves first.”

Special Photo: Phoebe