Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows

Meet the Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows, a group of extraordinary leaders who are moving ideas to action for children and families in the US.

Gayatri Agnew
Senior Director and Head of Accessibility
Walmart
Arkansas
Katie Albright
Senior Advisor
Safe & Sound
California
Phyllis Albritton
Managing Consultant
Colorado Safety Net Collaborative
Colorado
Cara Aley
Global Operations Consultant
Maryland
Kwame Anku
CEO and Chairman
Black Star Fund
California
John Annis
Senior VP, Collaboration and Impact
Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation
Florida
Erin Arango-Escalante
Founder & Principal
All Children Thrive
Wisconsin
Jovanna Archuleta
Early Childhood Community Outreach Director
LANL Foundation
New Mexico
Deana Around Him
Research Scholar
Child Trends
Maryland
Anthony Barrows
Managing Partner & Founder, Center for Behavioral Design & Social Justice
Project Evident
New York
Katherine Beckmann
Program Officer for the Children, Families & Communities program
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
California
Chris Bennett
CEO & Co-Founder
Wonderschool
California
Kristin Bernhard
Chief Policy and Research Officer
Start Early
Illinois
Reggie Bicha
President
Shine Early Learning
Colorado
Matthew Biel
Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Early Childhood Innovation Network (ECIN) at Georgetown University
District of Columbia
Mia Birdsong
Senior Fellow
Economic Security Project
California
Melanie Bridgeforth
President and CEO
Women’s Foundation of Alabama
Alabama
Laurie Brotman
Bezos Family Foundation Professor of Early Childhood Development
Department of Population Health NYU School of Medicine
New York
Erin Brown
Vice President, Community Investment & Impact
The Colorado Health Foundation
Colorado
Rashida Brown
Program Director, Health and Human Services, Counties Futures Lab
National Association of Counties
District of Columbia
Myla Calhoun
Vice President – Birmingham Division
Alabama Power Company
Alabama
Melvin Carter
Mayor
City of Saint Paul
Minnesota
P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale
Professor Emerita of Human Development and Social Policy
Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research
Illinois
Jay Chaudhary
Director, Division of Mental Health and Addiction
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
Indiana
Nathan T. Chomilo
Medical Director, Medicaid and MinnesotaCare
Minnesota Department of Human Services
Minnesota
Mary Alice Cohen
Deputy Executive Director
Colorado Department of Early Childhood
Colorado
Janeen Comenote
Executive Director
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
Washington
Karla Davis
Operations/HR Director
Whole Child Strategies, Inc.
Tennessee
Betsy Delgado
Senior Vice President and Chief Mission and Education Officer
Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana
Indiana
Twylla Dillion
Executive Director
HealthConnect One
New York
Matthew Dodson
Senior Director of Integrated Care
Axis Health Systems
Colorado
Steven Dow
Founder and Special Advisor
CAP Tulsa
Oklahoma
Wendy Ellis
Assistant Professor, Center Director
Center for Community Resilience, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
District of Columbia
John Farnam
Chief of Staff/Deputy Disruptor
Morgridge Family Foundation
Colorado
Verónica Figoli
Vice President for Institutional Partnerships
Accion Opportunity Fund
Colorado
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock
United States Senator
US Senate
Georgia
Ciara Garcia
President and CEO
Social Venture Partners Tucson
Arizona
Craig Garfield
Professor of Pediatrics and of Medical Social Sciences
Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago/ Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine
Illinois
Jesús Gerena
CEO
UpTogether
California
Tony Gherardini
Executive Director
Department of Personnel and Administration for Governor Polis
Colorado
Tista Ghosh
Vice President for Employee Health
Edwards Lifesciences
Colorado
Gretchen Hammer
Founder
Public Leadership Group
Colorado
Maria Harper-Marinick
Senior Fellow
The Aspen Institute, College Excellence Program
Arizona
Nikki Hatch
Regional Administrator
Administration for Children and Families
Colorado
Raquel Hatter
Managing Director
The Kresge Foundation
Michigan
Joe Hobot
President and CEO
American Indian OIC
Minnesota
John Hudson III
Senior Vice President, Entergy Corporation | President, Entergy Charitable Foundation
Entergy
Alabama
Laura Huerta Migus
Deputy Director
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Virginia
William Jaeger
Strategic Initiatives Officer
LOR Foundation
Colorado
Deidre Johnson
CEO & Executive Director
Center for African American Health
Colorado
Liane Jollon
Executive Director
San Juan Basin Public Health
Colorado
Christopher Jones
Executive Director
North Dakota Department of Human Services
North Dakota
Joseph Jones
Founder and President & CEO of the Center for Urban Families
Center for Urban Families
Maryland
Myra Jones-Taylor
Chief Policy Impact Officer
Urban Institute
District of Columbia
Kevin Jordan
Senior Vice-President for National Programs
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Ohio
Ann Kalass
Retired
Michigan
Ariel Kalil
Professor and Director
University of Chicago, Center for Human Potential and Public Policy
Illinois
Blythe Keeler Robinson
President and CEO
Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Centers
Georgia
Christopher King
Senior Research Scientist and Lecturer
Ray Marshall Center, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Texas
Mark Kling
Executive Director
Family Resource Center Association
Colorado
Jeff Kuhr
Executive Director
Mesa County Public Health
Colorado
Paul LeBlanc
President
Southern New Hampshire University
New Hampshire
Jennifer Lee
Chief Medical Officer
ACHP
Virginia
Andrea Levere
Executive Fellow
International Center for Finance at Yale School of Management
District of Columbia
Ron-Li Liaw
Mental Health In-Chief, Cannon Y. & Lyndia Harvey Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Chair of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute
Children’s Hospital Colorado
Colorado
Kirsten Lodal
Founder and Senior Advisor
LIFT
District of Columbia
Meera Mani
Vice President, Families and Communities
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
California
Lucy Marcil
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Boston University
Massachusetts
Don Mares
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Colorado Trust
Colorado
C. Nicole Mason
President/CEO
Institute for Women's Policy Research
District of Columbia
Felix V. Matos Rodriguez
Chancellor
City University of New York College System
New York
Margaret McKenna
Chairwoman
Boston Human Rights Commission
Massachusetts
Emily Miller
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Division Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women and Infants Hospital
Rhode Island
Georgia Mjartan
Executive Director
South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness
South Carolina
Wes Moore
Governor of Maryland
State of Maryland
Maryland
Alicia Mousseau
Vice President
Oglala Sioux Tribe
South Dakota
Dipesh Navsaria
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wisconsin
Vivian Nixon
Writer in Residence
Columbia Justice Lab Square One Project
New York
Michael Niyompong
Vice President & Chief Engagement Officer
WellPower
Colorado
Christine Norbut Beyer
Commissioner
New Jersey Department of Children and Families
New Jersey
Roxana Norouzi
Executive Director
OneAmerica
Washington
Aisha Nyandoro
CEO
Springboard to Opportunities
Mississippi
Eduardo Padron
President Emeritus
Miami Dade College
Florida
Adrián A. Pedroza
National Executive Director
Abriendo Puertas | Opening Doors
New Mexico
Nitzan Pelman
CEO & Founder
Climb Hire
California
Gloria Perez
President and CEO
Women's Foundation of Minnesota
Minnesota
Lori Pfingst
Senior Director
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Washington
Teresa Ramos
First Assistant, Deputy Governor for Education
Office of Governor J.B. Pritzker
Illinois
Tonja Rucker
Director for Early Childhood Success in the Institute for Youth Education and Families
National League of Cities
Maryland
Michelle Sarche
Associate Professor
University of Colorado - Denver
Colorado
Aysha E. Schomburg
Associate Commissioner
Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
District of Columbia
Kimberly Seals Allers
Founder
Irth
New York
Rinku Sen
Executive Director
Narrative Initiative
Texas
Stephanie Seng
Instructor/Director
Colorado State University
Colorado
William Serrata
President
El Paso Community College
Texas
Ann Silverberg King
Senior Director, Systems Improvement
Casey Family Programs
Utah
Mario Small
Quetelet Professor of Social Science
Department of Sociology at Columbia University
Massachusetts
Keesa Smith
Executive Director
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Arkansas
Mary Anne Snyder
Colorado
Dr. Darius Tandon
Director, Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM) - Center for Community Health; Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Illinois
Greg Taylor
Executive Director
National Basketball Association Foundation
New York
Cheryl Ternes
Director
Arapahoe County Department Human Services
Colorado
Jessica Saniguq Ullrich
Assistant Professor
Washington State University
Washington
Ebony Underwood
Founder/CEO
WE GOT US NOW
New York
Lorelei Vargas
Chief Community Impact Officer
Trinity Church Wall Street
New York
Stephanie Villafuerte
Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman
Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado
Colorado
Scott Wasserman
President
The Bell Policy Center
Colorado
Dr. Sarah Watamura
Professor and Chair
University of Denver, Department of Psychology
Colorado
Joe Waters
Co-Founder and CEO
Capita
South Carolina
Atiya Weiss
Executive Director
Burke Foundation
New Jersey
Leseliey Welch
Co-Founder
Birth Detroit and Birth Center Equity
Michigan
Sherece West-Scantlebury
President and CEO
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
Arkansas
Roxane White
Founder and CEO
Strategy with Rox
Colorado
Henry Wilde
Co-Founder & CEO
Acelero Learning, Inc.
Wisconsin
Daniel Williams
President and CEO
Steelcase Foundation
Michigan
Daria Willis
President
Howard Community College
Maryland
Katharine Winograd
Executive Director
Economic FORUM of Albuquerque
New Mexico
Layla Zaidane
President & Chief Executive Officer
Millenial Action Project
District of Columbia