5 Questions With ... Aleshi Bray

Aleshi Bray’s first job sure had a lot of staying power.

Her professional path started at financial services firm Brown Brothers Harriman, where she worked for 14 years out of its Boston office.

While there, Aleshi pursued and received an associate’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Eastern Nazarene College. She was also promoted to Talent Acquisition Administrator, a position she held from 2016 to 2018.

But Aleshi didn’t stop there. She continued her studies in 2020, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Leadership Development at the Providence College School of Continuing Education, which she expects to receive in 2025. But beyond the coursework, 2020 was an important year for another reason — it’s when Aleshi joined us here at AAA Northeast as an executive assistant in Marketing.

Given her current academic pursuits, it should come as no surprise that when faced with a dilemma, her logic overcomes her emotions. Even when those emotions involve baked goods.

Q: Which do you listen to the most: your heart or your brain?
I listen to my brain because I am forced to stop and think about what I’m going to do. I absolutely LOVE bakery pastries. And my heart will tell me to go ahead and go to Wright’s Bakery and get a loaf of banana bread. It would go great with this hot tea you are about to have. But my brain will then say, don’t listen to your heart, it is a snowstorm outside and Wright’s Bakery is 15 miles away, eat the oatmeal and stay inside. This is why I listen to my brain.

Q: Out of the four seasons, what’s your favorite and why?
My favorite season is Fall. I absolutely love the transition from the hot weather to the cooler temperatures. To me, fall is very cozy and there’s something about the bright orange colors, pumpkins, mums and apples that really make me happy!

Q: What song makes you sing along whenever you hear it?
It depends on what I am doing. For some reason, PANDORA knows I am in the kitchen fixing dinner and will play Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” and I go right in and turn into Mariah Carey the entire song. When I am in the car, my sing-along song is “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars. I have a party for one in my car.

Q: What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
I am not one to try anything daring when it comes to food. My father lives in a small county two hours from Nashville. He is known for his barbecue and when he drives to New England, he has his pickup truck and barrel grill in the bed of the truck. For some reason, every visit (which is a few times per year), he gifts each family member with a case of sweet potatoes. I have no idea why he thinks we love sweet potatoes in bulk. These are 40-pound boxes of sweet potatoes he gets in Tennessee right off the farm. Needless to say, I have had to learn how to make sweet potatoes in every way known to man.

Q: Where would you go on your all-time dream vacation?
My dream vacation is to go to Maldives. It would be an absolute pleasure for me to dive in the middle of the Indian Ocean and see the beauty of some marine life and corals.

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