Years of hard work led Ellen Fish to be hired among the senior ranks of Sandy Spring Bank, a financial institution that operated in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia for more than a century.
Sandy Spring’s recent acquisition by and merger with Atlantic Union Bank only adds to her professional achievement in a field that wasn’t even part of her original career plan.
“I call myself an accidental banker,” Fish said in an interview, recalling a plan during her senior year at Virginia Tech. “I was supposed to go to New York to be a buyer for an upscale clothing store.”
Yet the Virginia Beach native’s career plans changed due to her role as the college student representative with the university board of visitors student life committee. A board member told her he did not see her in that type of role, and when they met over the Christmas holiday, he talked up the banking profession.
Fish liked the idea, followed up with prodigious research on the profession, and was recruited to Equitable Bank.
Fish worked her way through a series of banking jobs in the Mid-Atlantic region, gaining expertise in structured finance, leveraged buyouts and a range of other specialties.
She joined Sandy Spring Bank in April 2020, as market president, assisting commercial clients in meeting their financial goals in the Baltimore and Frederick markets.
“I got to use my extroverted, soft-skill side with my analytical side,” she said.
Now, she’s working under the Atlantic Union umbrella. Sandy Spring is taking on the Richmond, Virginia bank’s name, and the institution will have 182 branches across Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.
The merger reflects consolidation of the banking industry during the 21st century, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation statistics show.
In 2001, there were 8,315 FDIC-insured commercial banks in the United States and by 2014 the number was 5,607. By 2024, the number had declined to 3,928.
Beyond work, Fish is deeply engaged in Baltimore area and Maryland civic life. She serves on the boards of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents, the University of Maryland Medical System and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
The state’s university governing board is, like counterparts in each state, grappling with federal cuts to education.
“I really worry about the affordability and access for students. I worry about it where the federal research dollars have been drastically cut or eliminated. I worry about how we’re going to keep higher ed accessible and affordable,” Fish said. “We’re going to have to look at education models, such as online courses. Also taking a hard look at our degree programs.”
As for being asked to serve on University of Maryland Medical System board, “Due to my passion for equitable health care, that was a perfect position for me,” Fish added.
Bank leadership and civic volunteer efforts are a lot to balance, but it’s a notion of service Fish said she learned from her father. Born in a poor, Irish immigrant family, he was one of 15 siblings and orphaned at 11.
A family took him in, with a promise from him that would get through high school and go to college. Her father did all of that and then some, going on to be a high-ranking FBI official, while Fish’s mother was a nurse administering free vaccinations.
For Fish, board service with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra also was a natural fit.
“I love music; I love theater,” Fish said. “What I was especially drawn to was the BSO OrchKids program. It works with schools in Baltimore City, pre-K through 12th grade. It provides music education, instruments, academic assistance, meals and mentorship opportunities.”
