Meet ashley gerson | Owner, Stetts Management

We had the good fortune of connecting with ashley gerson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi ashley, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Good intentions and knowing the “why” of your business. The intention wasn’t to become the most profitable model management, but one that was model friendly and had the best intention of the models in mind — something rare at the time. We then grew to be incredibly diverse and inclusive, well timed with the changes we started to see in the modeling world, which was slowing moving away from the tall, caucasian and slim prototype.

This deepened even more when we found a charity that we felt compelled to partner with – African Mission Healthcare – which provides medical aid to the most underserved areas and people in Africa. With a brand so entwined with creating community, creating change, and giving back it’s pretty hard to fail.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I founded Stetts Management, an inclusive talent agency that specializes in diversity and community and operates divisions in NYC, LA and Miami. The agency began as a side-gig while I was still modeling myself, and I wanted to create an agency that was model friendly and had the model’s best interests in mind.

This was seven years ago, and it took me some time to finally have the courage to start hiring, expanding and investing more into the business to make it my full-time priority. I had to get over the limiting beliefs that as a model I didn’t have the experience or contacts to be a real contender. When I finally trusted in my vision and hired my first employee who shared that vision were we able to really grow. The lesson here is get out of your own way. If you have the hustle, that counts for more than experience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I moved to Miami from NYC in 2020, and it’s been amazing to see how many amazing options have popped up even in the last few years – especially some of the NY staples like Sadelle’s for brunch. For a fun dinner, the new spot Delilah that has live music and feels like stepping back in time. My favorite Italian spot is Call Me Gabby, that has a patio that feels like you’re dining somewhere chic in Europe.

Of course the design district is a place to see and walk around – if my friends have kids we would do a stop at the Frost Museum. I don’t let anyone visit me without a workout in the itinerary, so I would probably drag them to a Nofar pilates class or a session at Sweat440 in sunset harbor.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Janelle McKenzie was my first hire and now my partner in making Stetts bicoastal. She has been a loyal friend who has shown fierce dedication to Stetts and our mission.

Website: www.stetts.com

Instagram: @stettsmgmt