Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows
Cara Aley
Global Operations Consultant
Maryland
Kwame Anku
Black Star Fund
CEO and Chairman
California
Anthony Barrows
Project Evident
Managing Partner & Founder, Center for Behavioral Design & Social Justice
New York
Rashida Brown
AidKit
Director of Government Partnerships
District of Columbia
Melvin Carter
City of Saint Paul
Mayor
Minnesota
Karla Davis
Whole Child Strategies, Inc.
Operations/HR Director
Tennessee
Steven Dow
CAP Tulsa
Founder and Special Advisor
Oklahoma
Dara Eskridge
Invest STL
Executive Director
Missouri
Verónica Figoli
Accion Opportunity Fund
EVP, Chief Development Officer
Colorado
Ciara Garcia
Social Venture Partners International
President and CEO
Arizona
Shimica Gaskins
GRACE & End Child Poverty CA
President & CEO
California
Tanguler Gray
Systems & Methods, Inc.
Executive Vice President of Operations
Georgia
Raquel Hatter
The Kresge Foundation
Managing Director
Michigan
John Hudson III
Entergy
Senior Vice President, Entergy Corporation | President, Entergy Charitable Foundation
Alabama
Kim Janey
Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)
President & CEO
Massachusetts
Joseph Jones
Center for Urban Families
Founder and President & CEO of the Center for Urban Families
Maryland
Mark Kling
Nonprofit Consultant
Colorado
Andrea Levere
Capitalize Good
CEO
District of Columbia
Kirsten Lodal
LIFT
Founder and Senior Advisor
District of Columbia
Karla Maraccini
Deloitte Consulting
Government and Public Sector Professional
Colorado
Georgia Mjartan
Central Carolina Community Foundation
President and CEO
South Carolina
Wes Moore
State of Maryland
Governor of Maryland
Maryland
Aisha Nyandoro
Springboard to Opportunities
CEO
Mississippi
Lori Pfingst
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Senior Director
Washington
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.