Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows


Gayatri Agnew
Walmart
Senior Director and Head of Accessibility
Arkansas


Jovanna Archuleta
LANL Foundation
Early Childhood Community Outreach Director
New Mexico


Deana Around Him
Child Trends
Research Scholar
Maryland


Mia Birdsong
Next River
Executive Director
California


Clinton Boyd, Jr.
Chapin Hall & Fathers, Families, & Healthy Communities
Researcher & Executive Director
Illinois


Melanie Bridgeforth
Women’s Foundation of Alabama
President and CEO
Alabama


Janeen Comenote
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
Executive Director
Washington


Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock
US Senate
United States Senator
Georgia


Tony Gherardini
Department of Personnel and Administration for Governor Polis
Executive Director
Colorado


Ashley Goldon
Blue Meridian Partners
Portfolio Manager
Michigan


Gretchen Hammer
Mathematica
Senior Fellow
Colorado


Laura Huerta Migus
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Deputy Director
Virginia


William Jaeger
LOR Foundation
Strategic Initiatives Officer
Colorado


Myra Jones-Taylor
Urban Institute
Senior Vice President for Impact and External Affairs
District of Columbia


Pascual Maestas
Town of Taos, New Mexico
Mayor
New Mexico


C. Nicole Mason
Institute for Women's Policy Research
President Emerita
District of Columbia


Margaret McKenna
Boston Human Rights Commission
Chairwoman
Massachusetts


Alicia Mousseau
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Vice President
South Dakota


Vivian Nixon
Columbia Justice Lab Square One Project
Writer in Residence
New York


Michael Niyompong
Merage Foundations
Executive Director
Colorado


Roxana Norouzi
OneAmerica
Executive Director
Washington


Adrián A. Pedroza
Abriendo Puertas | Opening Doors
National Executive Director
New Mexico


Juan Peña
CrossPurpose
Co-Founder
Colorado


Rinku Sen
Narrative Initiative
Executive Director
Texas
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.