Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows
Tess Abrahamson-Richards
Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services
Director of Data Sovereignty
Washington
Carlos Alemán
¡HICA! Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama
CEO
Alabama
Darneshia Allen
ZERO TO THREE
Training and Technical Assistance Integration Manager
Arkansas
Jamal Berry
Educare, DC
President and CEO
District of Columbia
Uju Berry
NYC Health + Hospitals Domestic Violence Mental Health Initiatives & NYU Langone Medical Center
Medical Director, Domestic Violence Mental Health Initiatives
New York
Lelaine Bigelow
Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality
Executive Director
District of Columbia
Nia Bodrick
Children’s National Hospital
General Pediatrician
District of Columbia
Clinton Boyd, Jr.
Chapin Hall & Fathers, Families, & Healthy Communities
Researcher & Executive Director
Illinois
Gena Boyle
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
Deputy Commissioner
Kentucky
Sixto Cancel
Think Of Us
Founder & CEO
District of Columbia
María Carla Chicuén
Miami Dade College
Executive Director of Cultural Affairs
Florida
Barbara DiGangi
University Settlement
Director of Community Wellness Initiatives
New York
Elizabeth Everett
First Five Nebraska
Deputy Director and Public Policy Manager
Nebraska
Shimica Gaskins
GRACE & End Child Poverty CA
President & CEO
California
Teresa Granillo
AVANCE, Inc.
CEO
Texas
Brad Hall
Blackfeet Community College
President
Montana
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
Kenn Harris
National Partnership for Community Leadership
Senior Consultant
Connecticut
Adrian Huerta
University of Southern California
Associate Professor of Education
California
Priya Iyer
Our Roots
Founder & CEO
New York
Su Jin Jez
California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy
CEO
California
Liane Jollon
Western Leaders Network
Executive Director
Colorado
Valerie Kinloch
Johnson C. Smith University
President & CEO
North Carolina
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.