Barrett MarySue

MarySue Barrett

Founder, MSB Policy Consulting, LLC

MarySue Barrett leads people and institutions in designing pathways to groundbreaking initiatives and policies. She believes building bridges between the public, private, community and philanthropic sectors is the most impactful way to achieve lasting social and economic progress. She is a passionate proponent of tapping relationships, data, storytelling and collective impact to scale up systemic change.

In 2022, MarySue launched MSB Policy Consulting, LLC to help catapult purpose-driven organizations. She currently is guiding programming and partnerships for a Women’s Leadership Center in Williams Bay, WI on the shores of Geneva Lake. MarySue has authored national infrastructure implementation resources for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Other clients have included the Pritzker Traubert Foundation and the Brookings Institution, where she has a long affiliation as a Nonresident Senior Fellow. In 2023, MarySue led a University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Seminar on designing urban solutions.

For 25 years, MarySue served as President of the independent Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC). She is especially proud of a groundbreaking 2017 Cost of Segregation study, policy wins like the 2019 Build Illinois package, planning innovations such as Great Rivers Chicago, and attracting a uniquely talented and diverse team. Barrett quadrupled the size of the organization, built a $16 M investment portfolio, and engaged a 60-member Board on high-stakes issue campaigns.

Earlier in her career, at age 29, MarySue was promoted to Chief of Policy by former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. As the “new ideas entrepreneur”, she guided Chicago’s early implementation of community policing and coordinated neighborhood investments. Tapping her deep knowledge and network, MarySue has served on transition teams for Chicago mayors, Illinois governors, and for President Barack Obama.

MarySue is a board member and Governance Committee Chair for Current Water, an advisory board member for the Eisenhower Fellowships, and is active with The Chicago Network, the Economic Club of Chicago, and Leadership Greater Chicago. She has participated in seven international leadership exchanges, fueling her passion for learning from other cities and regions. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and completed the Strategic Perspectives in Non-profit Management program at Harvard Business School and antiracism training through Chicago ROAR.

MarySue enjoys spending time with her young adult son and daughter, and attending a variety of dance, music, and theater performances.