Doris Quiros isn't afraid of change, a trait that helps explain why she heads up teams at the Atlanta Fed that help supervise and regulate banks.
As a vice president in the Bank's Supervision and Regulation Division, Quiros is responsible for credit and risk management, quality assurance, and applications and enforcement.
She has worked in the Federal Reserve System for more than 24 years, 21 of them at the Atlanta Fed. The daughter of Puerto Ricans, she became the first Latina to become an officer of the Atlanta Fed in 2004.
Photo by David Fine
This past October, she received the 2017 Latina Service of Excellence Award from 100 Hispanic Women National Inc., a national organization that helps develop and support professional Latinas. Quiros was selected for the honor because she "maximized her opportunities and has had a stellar professional career," said Nancy Genova, the nonprofit's president.
Out of the Big Apple
Born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Quiros is the middle child of seven. Her father, who arrived in New York at the age of 15, worked while completing his schooling and eventually met her mother and married. The family moved to Long Island when Quiros was a teenager.
"My father always wanted to go to college but wasn't able to," Quiros said. Despite the obstacles, he eventually became a technical writer and also pastored churches. Having come to America from Puerto Rico, her parents set an example of hard work for her five sisters and one brother, Quiros said.
"It's a family of high achievers," said Genova. "One of her sisters is a doctor, two others are teachers, another is a certified public accountant, and her brother is an engineer and senior pastor of the family church." Quiros became an ordained minister in 2010. She preaches in Spanish and English and promotes the advancement of women at her family's church in metro Atlanta's Gwinnett County.
After earning a bachelor of business administration degree in banking and finance from Hofstra University, Quiros began her career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She moved to the Atlanta area after her father's company relocated to Georgia.
She was not hired by the Atlanta Fed when she first applied, so she took a job as a temp at a savings and loan. In late 1996, Quiros again sought to work at the Atlanta Fed and got a job as a team leader in the statistics department.
Strategic in seeking opportunities
Quiros has shown that she can be strategic in seeking new roles and expanding her skill set. For example, after working in statistics for three years, she applied successfully for a position in accounting. "I wanted to have a skill that was marketable anywhere," she said. Years later, she was promoted to assistant vice president in the Audit Department.
"I was always open to trying different things and was fortunate enough to work alongside professionals who were supportive of a new perspective," Quiros explained. The opportunity to move into different jobs is what she likes most about the Atlanta Fed. "You can have a long career here and never get bored," said Quiros, who was promoted to her present position in early 2016.
About the Credit and Risk Department
The Credit and Risk Management Department provides central bank services to financial institutions in the Sixth District, which includes Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Those services include operating the discount window, which provides overnight credit to banks.
The department plays an instrumental role in implementing Federal Open Market Committee policy. As the Fed adjusts the benchmark federal funds rate, Credit and Risk Management supports the policy changes through the rate it charges for overnight credit as well as the rate it pays financial institutions for excess reserves held at the Fed. The latter is currently the Fed's primary tool used to keep the federal funds rate within the desired target.
Quiros relishes tackling high-visibility projects. During her five years in accounting, she led a major project to launch the use of a new software system at the Atlanta Fed. At one point, she was responsible for consolidating the accounts payable and general ledger functions for the Atlanta Fed's various branches throughout the Southeast.
"She is a doer," said Juan Sanchez, her boss in Supervision and Regulation who is a vice president in charge of consumer compliance, wealth management, and international bank programs. "She is not shy to raise her hand, take an initiative and own it, and lead something that she knows absolutely nothing about and deliver good outcomes."
Sanchez said Quiros is also a champion of diversity and inclusion at the Bank, a timely quality since Supervision and Regulation has just undertaken an initiative focused on enhancing its understanding of its employees' different views. Mark Gibson, an assistant vice president who reports to Quiros and manages the Credit and Risk Management department, says her respect for people is evident in her business decisions and management style. "She paints the high-level picture and trusts that her people will achieve it," Gibson said. "She leads from trying to do the right things by her people."
Quiros, a single mother of two adult children, keeps a busy schedule when she isn't working, a reflection of the values instilled by her family. Today, she is happy to watch the next generation in her family attend college. Her son earned degrees at Berry College and Vanderbilt University, and her daughter is currently attending the University of Florida.
"My parents made sure their children all went to college, so it's great to see that continue," Quiros said. "I'm just proud knowing my children will accomplish things I never have."
Karen Jacobs
Staff writer for Economy Matters