Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of A-G Associates reflects on leadership, mentorship, and the power of lifting others up ahead of International Women’s Day 2026

Long before conversations about women in leadership were common in boardrooms and business schools, Peg Anthony was already doing the work.

Across a career spanning higher education, federal policy, and consulting, she built a reputation as both a systems thinker and a builder of opportunity. Today, as Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of A-G Associates, Peg leads a firm where women thrive in leadership roles across the organization — something that was far less common when she began her career.

Over the decades, she has been a university administrator, a federal program leader, and a business founder. At many points along the way, she found herself among the only women in leadership positions in the room.

Rather than accept those barriers, she worked to remove them — mentoring young professionals, advocating for structural change, and encouraging women to imagine bigger possibilities for themselves.

Throughout her career, Dr. Anthony was often one of the few — if not the only — women in charge in her workplaces. Early on, she recognized the importance of creating pathways for more women to follow.

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026, Peg reflects on the experiences that shaped her career and the lessons she continues to share with the next generation of leaders.

A theme runs through it all: improving institutions and empowering people to think bigger about what’s possible.

“I’ve always been interested in how government agencies can work better, and that’s a common thread through my career.”

The Power of Support

Question: The theme of International Women’s Day this year is “Give to Gain.” How have other women helped you in your career?

Answer: You know, I’m so old that there aren’t a lot of women who have been in more senior positions, right? I will tell you the story of one woman. She was my boss at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and I was only at EPA for a couple of years before I became pregnant with my daughter. I was in a real panic about that because, back then, you had to use your regular leave if you were going on maternity leave — there was no short-term disability or anything.

This woman set me up at home with a whole desktop computer arrangement. She paid for me to get an extra phone line in my house so that I had basically an earlier version of a VPN. And as it just so happens, the woman who lived next door also worked for EPA. She would pick up things for me (because a lot of things were hard copy), and she would bring them home. I would work on things and give them back to her to take them back to the office. This boss set it up so that I could work from home for an additional couple of months after I had my daughter.

Paying It Forward

Q: As you’ve progressed in your career, how have you reciprocated the help that you’ve received and given it to other women?

A: At Marquette, I was hired into a role that had previously been called “Dean of Women,” so I oversaw several women’s programs. At the time, many women still joked about going to college for their “Mrs. degree.” I wanted to challenge that mindset, so I formed a little group with some faculty, staff and students and we started bringing feminist leaders on campus.

We did a big safety survey because Marquette is in the middle of Milwaukee, and we took on the challenge of making women safer walking the streets. We brought in leaders, like Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisolm, and Gloria Steinem. I had a pool of money that I could bring speakers in with, and I would have them come to the campus to spend a day having different seminars and then do a big speech type of thing in the evening.

I was trying to get women kind of revved up to think about themselves differently, and that was the era when women couldn’t get a credit card or buy a house in their own name. At the same time, I was also part of the Title IX lawsuit — that’s the thing that opened sports for women.

I got to do all those things, and, in the process, there were some really strong young women that I mentored in terms of their careers, where they wanted to go, and what they wanted to do. I am still in touch with some of them.

Recognition Built Over Time

Throughout her career, Peg has been recognized multiple times as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Maryland — a distinction that reflects decades of impact across public service, academia, and business.

But for Peg, recognition has always been less about the awards themselves and more about the work behind them.

Q: What does it mean to you to have been recognized multiple times as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Maryland?

A: It’s meaningful because I’ve never been someone who wins awards by chance — I never win contests or raffles! But throughout my career, I’ve consistently been recognized as a top performer in the organizations where I’ve worked. So, receiving that kind of professional recognition is very gratifying.

Building a Workplace Where Women Lead

Today at A-G Associates, women make up the majority of the workforce — and many hold leadership roles throughout the organization. The environment reflects both the nature of the firm’s work and Peg’s longstanding commitment to recognizing talent wherever it exists.

Q: You lead a consulting company that has been made of up majority women employees for many years. Was that a conscious decision, and what does it mean to you to forge a new path in the field and be a change-maker?

A: You know, we didn’t have any pre-planned ideas about that. Part of it reflects the nature of our work — there are many women in the social sciences — and partly it’s because I’ve known so many capable women through our networks and past employees.

I started becoming more aware of military spouses and their issues after I did a big project in the late 90s/ early 2000s for the Navy. We went to all of the military bases, and we were looking at the quality of life for military members and their families. We were considering a readiness and retention issue, and so we literally went to 120 bases.

I realized through that study the challenges on military families, particularly wives at that time. The wives really have to sacrifice their careers, as their careers take a hit from all the moving back and forth and upside down. When we found out about the Military Spouse Career Accelerator Program, it was like, “Okay, this is really great.” We’ve had some great people come through from the program.

I see women leaders throughout the company, at various levels, asserting themselves and just taking the helm. I love it!

Advice for the Next Generation of Women Leaders

Q: What advice would you give aspiring female entrepreneurs or leaders?

A: You need to have a vision for the business and then the smarts to finance it and find the people who can help grow the business. Women entrepreneurs need to have the business side of things down — not just the idea. Have a concrete plan and know how to raise capital to get there.

Women entrepreneurs are incredibly capable of doing this. We’ve already seen so many succeed, and there is plenty of room for many more to do the same.

Looking Forward

International Women’s Day is a moment to celebrate progress — but also to recognize the work still ahead.

Leaders like Peg Anthony remind us that real change happens when individuals are willing to challenge assumptions, create opportunities for others, and build organizations where talent and ambition can thrive.

Her career reflects a simple but powerful idea: When one leader opens a door, many others can walk through it.

[Answers were edited for clarity and brevity.]