Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows
Darneshia Allen
ZERO TO THREE
Training and Technical Assistance Integration Manager
Arkansas
Katherine Beckmann
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
National Policy Director for Children and Families
California
Chris Bennett
Wonderschool
CEO & Co-Founder
California
Kristin Bernhard
Primrose Schools
Executive Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Advocacy
Georgia
Jamal Berry
Educare, DC
President and CEO
District of Columbia
Nia Bodrick
Children’s National Hospital
General Pediatrician
District of Columbia
Laurie Brotman
Department of Population Health NYU School of Medicine
Bezos Family Foundation Professor of Early Childhood Development
New York
Mary Alice Cohen
Colorado Department of Early Childhood
Deputy Executive Director
Colorado
Elizabeth Everett
First Five Nebraska
Deputy Director and Public Policy Manager
Nebraska
John Farnam
Buell Foundation
Director of Strategic Grantmaking
Colorado
Susan Gale Perry
Child Care Aware of America
CEO
Virginia
Teresa Granillo
AVANCE, Inc.
CEO
Texas
Kai-ama Hamer
Center for Early Childhood Health and Development, NYU School of Medicine
Director, ParentCorps
New York
Keami Harris
Early Childhood Funders Collaborative
Chief of Equity and Strategy
Maryland
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
President and CEO
Maryland
Raychael Jensen
Ballmer Group
National Director, Early Childhood and Families
Florida
Ariel Kalil
University of Chicago, Center for Human Potential and Public Policy
Professor and Director
Illinois
Blythe Keeler Robinson
Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Centers
President and CEO
Georgia
Vance Lewis
Promise Venture Studio
Associate Partner
California
Meera Mani
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Vice President, Families and Communities
California
Cynthia Osborne
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, Vanderbilt University
Executive Director and Professor of Early Childhood Education and Policy
Tennessee
Erica Phillips
National Association for Family Child Care
Executive Director
New York
Teresa Ramos
Office of Governor J.B. Pritzker
First Assistant, Deputy Governor for Education
Illinois
Natalie Renew
Home Grown
Executive Director
Pennsylvania
Ascend Fellows are a community of values-driven leaders who share an unwavering commitment to our shared goal of intergenerational family prosperity and well-being.