Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows
Gayatri Agnew
Walmart
Senior Director and Head of Accessibility
Arkansas
Katie Albright
UC Berkeley EXCEL
Executive Director
California
Phyllis Albritton
Colorado Safety Net Collaborative
Managing Consultant
Colorado
Cara Aley
Global Operations Consultant
Maryland
Kwame Anku
Black Star Fund
CEO and Chairman
California
John Annis
Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation
Senior VP, Collaboration and Impact
Florida
Erin Arango-Escalante
All Children Thrive
Founder & Principal
Wisconsin
Jovanna Archuleta
LANL Foundation
Early Childhood Community Outreach Director
New Mexico
Deana Around Him
Child Trends
Research Scholar
Maryland
Anthony Barrows
LIFT - New York
Executive Director
New York
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
Reggie Bicha
American Public Human Services Association
President and CEO
Colorado
Matthew Biel
Early Childhood Innovation Network (ECIN) at Georgetown University
Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
District of Columbia
Mia Birdsong
Next River
Executive Director
California
Melanie Bridgeforth
Bridgeforth
Founder and President
Alabama
Laurie Brotman
Department of Population Health NYU School of Medicine
Bezos Family Foundation Professor of Early Childhood Development
New York
Erin Brown
The Colorado Health Foundation
Vice President, Community Investment & Impact
Colorado
Rashida Brown
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner
District of Columbia
Myla Calhoun
Propel Education
President and CEO
Alabama
Melvin Carter
City of Saint Paul
Mayor
Minnesota
P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale
Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research
Professor Emerita of Human Development and Social Policy
Illinois
Jay Chaudhary
Sagamore Institute
Senior Fellow for Mental Health and Community Wellness
Indiana
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.