Current Ascend Fellows

Meet the 42 Fellows in the 2023 Class and 2024 Class who are currently engaged in the 18-month Ascend Fellowship experience.

Amanda Navarro
Executive Director
Convergence Partnership
New York
Headshot of Ashley Golden
Ashley Goldon
Portfolio Manager
Blue Meridian Partners
Michigan
Barbara DiGangi
Director of Community Wellness Initiatives
University Settlement
New York
Cary Waubanascum
Assistant Professor, Indigenous Health
University of North Dakota
Wisconsin
Catherine Monk
Diana Vagelos Professor of Women’s Mental Health
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
New York
Chelsea Wesner
Research Instructor
Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health, University of Colorado
South Dakota
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy
Dean and Distinguished Professor, School of Education
American University
Maryland
Clinton Boyd, Jr.
Researcher & Executive Director
Chapin Hall & Fathers, Families, & Healthy Communities
Illinois
Headshot of Cynthia Osborne
Cynthia Osborne
Executive Director and Professor of Early Childhood Education and Policy
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, Vanderbilt University
Tennessee
Dara Eskridge
Executive Director
Invest STL
Missouri
Darneshia Allen
Training and Technical Assistance Integration Manager
ZERO TO THREE
Arkansas
Demetrius Starling
Senior Deputy Director
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Michigan
Elizabeth Everett
Deputy Director and Public Policy Manager
First Five Nebraska
Nebraska
Erica Phillips
Executive Director
National Association for Family Child Care
New York
India Ornelas
Interim Chair and Professor
Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington
Washington
Jamal Berry
President and CEO
Educare, DC
District of Columbia
Jennifer Wells
Director of Economic Justice
Community Change
Alabama
Jerreed Ivanich
Assistant Professor, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health
University of Colorado
Colorado
Juan Peña
Co-Founder
CrossPurpose
Colorado
Kai-ama Hamer
Director, ParentCorps
Center for Early Childhood Health and Development, NYU School of Medicine
New York
Karla Maraccini
Government and Public Sector Professional
Deloitte Consulting
Colorado
Keami Harris
Chief of Equity and Strategy
Early Childhood Funders Collaborative
Maryland
Kenn Harris
Senior Consultant
National Partnership for Community Leadership
Connecticut
Headshot of Kim Janey
Kim Janey
President & CEO
Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)
Massachusetts
Madeleine Thakur
President & CEO
The Children's Movement of Florida
Florida
Maria Tarajano Rodman
Executive Director
Valley Settlement
Colorado
Natalie Renew
Executive Director
Home Grown
Pennsylvania
Nia Bodrick
General Pediatrician
Children’s National Hospital
District of Columbia
Pascual Maestas
Mayor
Town of Taos, New Mexico
New Mexico
Priya Iyer
Founder & CEO
Our Roots
California
Headshot of Raychael Jensen
Raychael Jensen
National Director, Early Childhood and Families
Ballmer Group
Florida
Richard Raya
CEO
Marin Promise Partnership
California
Sarah Kuriakose
Associate Commissioner, Division of Integrated Community Services for Children and Families
New York State Office of Mental Health
New York
Shannon Wanless
Executive Director & Associate Professor
Office of Child Development, University of Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania
Shimica Gaskins
President & CEO
GRACE & End Child Poverty CA
California
Sixto Cancel
Founder & CEO
Think Of Us
District of Columbia
Stephanie Parra
Executive Director
ALL in Education
Arizona
Susan Gale Perry
CEO
Child Care Aware of America
Virginia
Tanguler Gray
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Services, Administration for Children & Families
Georgia
Teresa Granillo
CEO
AVANCE, Inc.
Texas
Tess Abrahamson-Richards
Director of Data Sovereignty
Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services
Washington
Vance Lewis
Associate Partner
Promise Venture Studio
California

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