2023 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows

Meet the 2023 Class of Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows. This cohort represent 15 states and work across systems and sectors, tackling issues like: helping families cross the economic divide and climb the economic ladder; advancing equitable health and housing solutions; and ensuring access to early education and food security.

Dara Eskridge
Executive Director
Invest STL
Missouri
Susan Gale Perry
CEO
Child Care Aware of America
Virginia
Headshot of Ashley Golden
Ashley Goldon
Executive Director
Nation Outside
Michigan
Tanguler Gray
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Services, Administration for Children & Families
Georgia
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy
Dean and Distinguished Professor, School of Education
American University
Maryland
Jerreed Ivanich
Assistant Professor, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health
University of Colorado
Colorado
Headshot of Kim Janey
Kim Janey
President & CEO
Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)
Massachusetts
Headshot of Raychael Jensen
Raychael Jensen
National Director, Early Childhood and Families
Ballmer Group
Florida
Pascual Maestas
Mayor
Town of Taos, New Mexico
New Mexico
Karla Maraccini
Director, Food and Energy Assistance Division
Colorado Department of Human Services
Colorado
Catherine Monk
Diana Vagelos Professor of Women’s Mental Health
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
New York
Amanda Navarro
Executive Director
Convergence Partnership
New York
India Ornelas
Interim Chair and Professor
Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington
Washington
Headshot of Cynthia Osborne
Cynthia Osborne
Executive Director and Professor of Early Childhood Education and Policy
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, Vanderbilt University
Tennessee
Stephanie Parra
Executive Director
ALL in Education
Arizona
Juan Peña
Co-Founder
CrossPurpose
Colorado
Erica Phillips
Executive Director
National Association for Family Child Care
New York
Richard Raya
Chief Strategy Officer
Mission Economic Development Agency
California
Maria Tarajano Rodman
Executive Director
Valley Settlement
Colorado
Cary Waubanascum
Assistant Professor, Social Work Professional Programs
University of Wisconsin Green Bay
Wisconsin