2021 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows - Politico
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2021 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows
If we want an America where every child and family is well and can prosper,
we need a diverse cadre of leaders, well-connected, well-prepared, and
powerfully positioned to build the political will, change systems, and drive
the policy agenda that makes that happen. The 2021 Ascend Fellows join a
national network of visionary leaders who are transforming the trajectory of
children and families across the country.
Gayatri Agnew
Senior Director, Opportunity
Walmart.org
Gayatri Agnew comes to Walmart having worked in the public sector
both in government and non-profits and found her way to business
because of her desire to work on impact at scale. She is committed to
shared value and believes businesses can be a force for good in society.
Raised by a single mom in California, she knows firsthand that access to
education and good jobs change lives – and she is proud of the way
Walmart unlocks opportunity for so many of our associates. Gayatri serves on the leadership
team of Walmart’s Global Responsibility division where she leads strategy and philanthropy for
Walmart’s efforts on economic mobility. Gayatri’s personal mission is for more people to find
purpose through the way they earn a living. She is currently a Presidential Leadership Scholar
working on changing corporate culture for working moms. She is active in the local community,
serving on the Bentonville City Council as well as on the national boards for the Vote Mama
Foundation, &Mother, and Path Forward. When not engaged at work or in civic life, she can be
found hiking, singing karaoke, enjoying the local farmers market, and crafting at home. She and
her husband, Ryan, live in Bentonville with their two young children, Rohan and Kamala.
Christine Norbut Beyer
Commissioner
New Jersey Department of Children and Families
Christine Norbut Beyer has decades of public/private experience and a
visionary’s perspective to child welfare transformation. As commissioner,
she is redefining the agency as a prevention-focused, child and family
serving department. Under her leadership, the Department of Children
and Families has reduced out of home removals, increased kinship
placement, and made historic investments in children’s mental health.
With a progressive lens, she pioneered including constituent voice and adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs) and healing-centered practice to inform departmental policies and initiated
a race equity steering committee to study and correct disparities in reporting, investigating, and
removing children of color from their families. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Beyer served as
senior director and strategic consultant at Casey Family Programs, a national child welfare
foundation, focused on improving outcomes for children and families. In her capacity as a
national child welfare consultant, she supported the efforts of public child welfare agencies, the
judiciary, and governors in creating better outcomes for at-risk children and families; and had
the opportunity to delve deeply into the areas of brain science, ACEs, and trauma-informed
care and the intersection with child welfare. These are policy areas she continues to pursue at
the Department of Children and Families.
Melanie Bridgeforth
President and CEO
The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham
A native of Athens, Alabama, Melanie has dedicated her entire
professional career to fighting for equitable systems and sound public
policy solutions that create deeper, sustainable change in Alabama. She
is a proud graduate of The University of Alabama, where she earned
both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. As president and CEO
of The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, the state’s only
philanthropic foundation investing with a gender focus, Melanie drives
strategic direction, fiscal management, and accountability of a multi-million-dollar budget; and
maximizes the value of the organization with a range of state and community
stakeholders. Leveraging her decade-long experience in non-profit management and
governmental affairs, Melanie has boldly expanded the direction of The Women’s Fund of
Greater Birmingham, growing targeted philanthropic investments to roughly $800,000 annually,
bolstered cutting edge research, and instituting public policy advocacy to secure long-lasting,
systemic change for women and communities – a strategic decision that to date has yielded
three historic statewide policy wins for women, including passage of Alabama’s first Equal Pay
Statute. Previously, Melanie has served as executive director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children
and as the government relations director for the American Heart Association.
Jay Chaudhary
Director, Division of Mental Health and Addiction
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
Prior to joining the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration,
Jay Chaudhary served as managing attorney and director of Medical
Legal Partnerships for Indiana Legal Services. Chaudhary holds an
undergraduate degree from Ball State University. During his time with
Indiana Legal Services, Chaudhary developed a medical-legal
partnership between Indiana Legal Services and Eskenazi Midtown
Community Mental Health Center that began on a part-time basis and later turned it into a full-
time, multi-lawyer program. For his dedication to this partnership, Chaudhary received the
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Innovation Award from ARC of Indiana. In 2015, the partnership between Indiana Legal Services
and Eskenazi Midtown Community Mental Health Center received the Outstanding Medical
Legal Partnership award from the National Center for Medical Legal Partnership. Chaudhary
currently serves as a board member for the Indiana Health Advocacy Coalition and is the chair
of the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission. In 2020, Chaudhary was a recipient of the Maurer
School of Law's Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
Janeen Comenote
Executive Director
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
Janeen Comenote is a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation. She is
Quinault and Oglala on her father’s side and Hesquiaht and Kwakiutl
First Nations on her mother’s side. The National Urban Indian Family
Coalition (NUIFC) is a national coalition representing 50 urban Indian
centers in 33 cities and more than two million Native Americans living
away from their traditional land base. The NUIFC remains one of only a
few national organizations dedicated to “Making the Invisible Visible”
and providing a platform, funding, and voice for this underrepresented
population in America. Janeen is a recipient of the Potlatch Fund Fran
James Cultural Preservation award and Eco Trust Indigenous Leadership award for her work with
urban Indians and was highlighted in O (Oprah) magazine for her participation in Women Rule:
80 Women Who Could Change America. She has presented at the White House and United
Nations, has been a human rights commissioner for the City of Seattle, and is currently a board
member for the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, and
on the External Diversity and Inclusion Council for Charter Communications. She worked for 16
years at the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation in child welfare, juvenile justice, and poverty
reduction.
Michael Flores, PhD
Chancellor
Alamo Colleges District
With more than 20 years of service to the Alamo Colleges District, Dr.
Flores possesses the distinction of being the first Hispanic chancellor in
the district’s history. During his first year as chancellor, Dr. Flores led the
Alamo Colleges District and its five colleges in celebrating the
recognition as the only community college system in the nation to be
awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s
highest presidential honor for performance excellence
through innovation, improvement, and visionary leadership. Flores’
vision for the Alamo Colleges District – eliminating poverty through
education – is based on his personal experience as a child of migrant farmworkers who pursued
education to gain economic and social mobility. Through his leadership, the Alamo
Colleges District has launched AlamoPROMISE, a tuition-free college program for graduating
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high school students in Bexar County. Aligned with the vision for eliminating poverty, Flores has
supported the launch of Student Advocacy Centers at each of the district’s five colleges and
reduced tuition for students enrolled fully online. While president at Palo Alto College, Flores
established new degree and certificate programs in high-wage, high-demand career areas;
seven early college high school partnerships; the College’s first Center for Mexican-American
studies; and an Honors program.
Craig Gar eld, MD
Professor of Pediatrics and of Medical Social Sciences
Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine
In 2020, Craig Garfield became the founder and director of the Family
and Child Health Innovations Program, which focuses on the notion that
“Children thrive when families thrive” and how to support families in all
their diversity. Dr. Garfield received his medical degree at Rush Medical
College in Chicago and completed his pediatric training at Harvard
Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed the
Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of
Chicago and concurrently obtained a Masters in the Art of Public Policy from the Harris School
of Public Policy as a Harris Child and Family Scholar. Using qualitative and quantitative methods,
his research focuses on improving the health of children and families by understanding the role
parents play in the health and well-being of children (in particular, the role of fathers) as well as
how technology can support parenting. He has partnered with the CDC to pilot and scale the
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for Dads, a unique public health surveillance
tool for new fathers. His work has been published in such peer-reviewed journals as JAMA,
JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Academic Pediatrics, and AJPH. Dr. Garfield’s work has also been
featured in the New York Times, USA Today, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and the
Katie Couric Show.
Jesús Gerena
CEO
UpTogether
UpTogether is an antiracist change organization that trusts and invests in
low-income families, allowing them to move themselves out of poverty.
Under Jesús’ leadership, UpTogether has quadrupled its revenue,
doubled in staff, and expanded its work to all 50 states through the
adoption of its strength-based approach and technology platform,
UpTogether Community. Prior to joining UpTogether, Jesús worked for
the Hyde Square Task Force, where he worked on the Youth First project
that helped lay the groundwork for a proposed $250 million urban
development project. The Schwab Foundation named Jesús as a 2020 Social Innovator of the
Year for leading UpTogether’s work supporting tens of thousands of families across the US
during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Jesús was included in Care 100’s most influential people in
care. A native of Puerto Rico, Jesús is the youngest of three children born to parents who were
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fi
just nineteen years old when they married. At the age of nine, Jesús moved with his mother and
siblings to Amherst, Massachusetts. This community was full of resources, lifting up
opportunities for Jesús’ family to achieve their goals. This life experience has shaped Jesús,
fueling his desire to eliminate place, race, or economic position as the marker for individual and
collective success.
Ron-Li Liaw, PhD
Cannon Y. & Lyndia Harvey Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
and Chair of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute and Professor,
Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Division Director
of Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Children’s Hospital Colorado and University of Colorado School of
Medicine
Dr. K. Ron-Li Liaw will also be serving as the inaugural mental health in-
chief at Colorado Children’s Hospital to help shape and oversee child
mental health vision and strategy, operations, quality, safety, and
workforce development system-wide. Dr. Liaw was previously the director
of the Sala Institute’s child-family services and resilience programs and
chief of service of child and adolescent psychiatry at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU
Langone. Nationally, Dr. Liaw has served as an expert consultant in design and innovation,
family engagement, improvement science, mental health integration, clinician well-being,
diversity, and equity for the American Board of Pediatrics Foundation’s Resilience Roadmap
Pilot Collaborative, Greater New York Hospital Association Clinician Wellbeing Advisory Group,
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital Association’s
Behavioral Health Leadership Roundtable, and IDEO.
Alicia Mousseau, PhD
Vice President
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Dr. Alicia Mousseau is the daughter of the late John and Vera Mousseau
and the granddaughter of the late James and Lena Mousseau from
Porcupine, South Dakota. Her hunka parents are Howard Brown and
Karen Spoonhunter-Brown of Arapahoe, Wyoming. Her hunka children
are Marcella and Alexander Brave Heart and Sarayah, Gia, and Jo
Weston. Dr. Mousseau received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Wyoming
in 2012. Before becoming the vice president for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, she culturally adapted,
implemented, and evaluated prevention and intervention programs with American Indian youth
and families. Dr. Mousseau’s commitment to her Tribe, community, and Oyate (people) has
influenced her vice presidential platform to bring trauma/healing informed care as well as a
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) Research and Training Center to the
Oglala Sioux Tribe. Overall, Dr. Mousseau is dedicated to promoting prevention and health
equity in American Indian communities through culturally and contextually relevant ways of
knowing and capacity building.
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Aysha Schomburg
Associate Commissioner, United States Children’s Bureau
Administration for Children and Families
US Department of Health and Human Services
Aysha E. Schomburg joined the Biden Administration in March 2021. In
this role, she advises the Administration on matters related to child
welfare, including child abuse and neglect, child protective services,
family preservation and support, adoption, foster care, and independent
living. The Children's Bureau recommends legislative and budgetary
proposals, operational planning system objectives and initiatives, and projects and issue areas
for evaluation, research, and demonstration activities. She previously served as the senior
administrator for program oversight for New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services
(ACS). There she worked collaboratively with agency leaders to develop and implement plans
for the operational infrastructure of ACS. During the COVID-19 public health crisis, she worked
closely with New York City’s Department of Education and Department of Homeless Services to
create and coordinate guidance for frontline staff. She also provided recommendations to ACS’s
Office of Equity Strategies regarding addressing inequities and racism in child welfare. Aysha
received her BA from the University of Virginia, her MA from New York University, and her JD
from New York Law School.
Rinku Sen
Executive Director
Narrative Initiative
Rinku Sen is formerly the executive director of Race Forward and was
publisher of their award-winning news site Colorlines. Under Sen’s
leadership, Race Forward generated some of the most impactful racial
justice successes of recent years, including Drop the I-Word, a campaign
for media outlets to stop referring to immigrants as “illegal,” resulting in
the Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, and many more outlets
changing their practice. She was also the architect of the Shattered Families report, which
identified the number of kids in foster care whose parents had been deported. Her books Stir it
Up and The Accidental American theorize a model of community organizing that integrates a
political analysis of race, gender, class, poverty, sexuality, and other systems. As a consultant,
Rinku has worked on narrative and political strategy with numerous organizations and
foundations, including PolicyLink, the ACLU and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. She serves
on numerous boards, including the Women’s March, where she is co-president, and the
Foundation for National Progress, publisher of Mother Jones magazine.
Keesa M. Smith
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Deputy Director, Youth and Families
Arkansas Department of Human Services
M. Smith has oversight of the child welfare, juvenile justice, child care,
and early childhood education divisions. She also manages the agency’s
human resources, procurement, and appeals offices. Prior to joining the
Department of Human Services, Ms. Smith served as the chairman of the
Arkansas Board of Review, a position to which she was appointed by
Governor Mike Beebe. Ms. Smith also served as deputy legal counsel
and state implementation director for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for
Governor Beebe. Before serving in this capacity, Ms. Smith held positions in the Governor’s
communication and external affairs team. She began her legal career as a staff attorney for the
Center for Arkansas Legal Services. Ms. Smith received a BA in journalism and mass
communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002. She also earned a
JD from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 2005. She
has one daughter, Afiya, who is a junior nursing major at Southern University and A&M College
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Greg Taylor
President
NBA Foundation
Greg Taylor is responsible for the strategic development, creation and
implementation of programs and partnerships that advance the NBA
Foundation’s efforts to increase access and support for high school,
college-aged, job-ready, and mid-career Black men and
women. Additionally, Taylor oversees the administration of grants to
national and local organizations that provide skills training, mentorship,
coaching, and pipeline development. Working closely with the NBA
Foundation Board of Directors, Program Officers, National Basketball
Players Association, and all 30 NBA teams, he forms impactful
partnerships and oversees support for national and local organizations in NBA markets and
communities across the United States and Canada. Previously, Taylor served as senior vice
president of player development for the NBA, leading the league’s initiatives to assist players in
their personal, professional, and social development by building innovative programs in the
areas of continuing education, financial management, and mental health and wellness. Prior to
joining the NBA in 2013, Taylor served as president and CEO of the Foundation for Newark’s
Future and as vice president of programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where he established
strong relationships with local and national organizations and led a series of economic,
education, and youth development initiatives that supported youth and families of color.
Ebony Underwood
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2021 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows |
Founder and CEO
WE GOT US NOW
WE GOT US NOW is a national advocacy organization built by, led by,
and about children and young adults impacted by parental incarceration
with the mission to engage, educate, elevate, and empower this
historically invisible population. As a social entrepreneur, content creator
and Soros Justice fellow, Ebony’s interest in this advocacy work is
personal and pivotal. Traumatized and emotionally devastated by her
father’s incarceration, she silently suffered for years. In 2014, Ebony
began to speak publicly and share her story through film, television, and social media advocacy.
Since 2016, she has spearheaded and produced three iterations of the Google-initiated digital
campaign, #LoveLetters, to demonstrate the unbreakable bond between a child and their
incarcerated parent on Mother’s and Father’s Day. In 2017, she received a Proclamation from the
City of NY for her advocacy work highlighting the issue of children with incarcerated parents.
She co-authored the chapter, About Us, For Us, With Us: Collaboration as a Key to Progress in
Research, Practice & Policy in the 2nd Edition Handbook on Children with Incarcerated Parents
and published op-ed articles in Mic, Huffington Post, Vibe, and The Appeal. She was awarded
the Arizona State University’s Champion of Child Well-Being and currently sits on the Board of
Directors at the Sentencing Project. #WEGOTUSNOW
Joe Waters
Co-founder and CEO
Capita
Capita is a think tank dedicated to exploring how the cultural and social
transformations of our day affect young children and their families and
fostering new ideas and policies to ensure a future in which all people
flourish. Under Joe’s leadership, Capita has launched initiatives focused
on supporting the development of more worker-owned child care
businesses, helping policymakers and systems leaders better meet the needs of Gen Z parents
and their families, and bringing strategic foresight tools to policy and program planning for
child-serving systems. His commentary on issues facing families has been published by
Investor’s Business Daily, The Hill, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Nonprofit Quarterly and
other outlets. He has served as a long-time member of the board of directors of the Felician
Center, which helps those who struggle to meet their basic needs in South Carolina’s rural Pee
Dee region and of the Greenville Chorale. He graduated from Furman University (BA, history)
and earned a master’s degree in divinity from Duke University. He and his wife Molly Benedum,
a family physician, live with their family in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Atiya Weiss
Executive Director
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Burke Foundation
Atiya Weiss leads efforts to invest in the most promising and
transformative programs and policies to foster the health, well-being,
and resilience of New Jersey children and families. She oversees
development and execution of the Burke Foundation’s strategies to
pursue targeted initiatives and partnerships that promote healthy
pregnancies, births, and parent-child relationships, as well as high-
quality early learning and care. Atiya previously served as a senior
advisor in JP Morgan’s Philanthropy Center, providing clients with
insights and services to meet their philanthropic objectives through
innovative advice, thought leadership, and opportunities for learning
and collaboration. At JP Morgan, she supported the creation and launch
of the Global Health Investment Fund, a $100 million social impact fund to advance
development of drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics in partnership with the Gates Foundation.
Atiya began her career at Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation, where she managed a global health
grantmaking portfolio and led flagship programs, including Pfizer Global Health Fellows and
Mobilize Against Malaria. As an Aspen Ascend Fellow, she will continue to champion birth
equity by expanding the perinatal community workforce to deliver enhanced care to women
and families and create new employment opportunities. Atiya received a BA from Brown
University and an MPH in epidemiology from Columbia University.
Daniel Williams
President and CEO
Steelcase Foundation
A leader in education and equity-centered design, Daniel works to
advance justice through education and community engagement. Prior
to his role as president and CEO of the Steelcase Foundation, he led the
West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology, where he worked
towards equity and innovation throughout Michigan. Prior to that, he
was co-founder and principal of Grand Rapids University Prep Academy,
the first “Centers of Innovation” School in Grand Rapids Public Schools. In 2020 he was elected
to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for Grand Rapids Community College. In 2018,
Daniel was appointed by then-Governor Rick Snyder to join the Michigan Consortium of
Advanced Networks, and in 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed him as vice-
chairperson of the MI-STEM Council. Daniel has served on many local boards and statewide
committees, as well as a number of national initiatives. He believes deeply in the innate
brilliance of community and the importance of centering the voices of those so often ignored.
These beliefs and his passion for liberation and justice drive his work with community.
Daria Willis, PhD
President
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2021 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows |
Everett Community College
Dr. Daria J. Willis serves as the 17th president of Everett Community
College, in Everett, Washington. As the first African American in this role
in its 80-year history, Dr. Willis is focused on ending generational poverty
for college students and their families. She was raised in a single-parent
household with values rooted in faith, perseverance, and excellence. Dr.
Willis was a first-generation student to college who became pregnant at
nineteen years old, so she understands the vagaries of life as a student
parent struggling for a better livelihood. She is a tireless advocate for the
voiceless, she is a believer in social justice and equity, and her life’s
mission is to disrupt the traditional norms of higher education to provide
creative and innovative pathways to success. Dr. Willis earned her BA and MA degrees in history
from Florida A&M University. She earned a PhD in the field of Nineteenth and Twentieth
Century African American history from Florida State University. She has demonstrated her
commitment to the mission of community colleges, serving in a variety of roles as an adjunct
and full-time faculty member, faculty senate president, department chair, dean, and provost in
Florida, Texas, New York, and Washington.
About the Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship: Over the course of 18 months, Fellows
commit to participating in four Fellowship Forums, creating and carrying out an action plan that
amplifies their vision to enable children and families to reach their full potential, and optimizing
monthly individual or peer group check-in calls. In return, the Ascend Fellowship provides the
space, inspiration, and support to develop something meaningful, leveraging the Aspen
Institute’s influence and reach to amplify Fellows’ leadership and bold ideas.
We are grateful to the Bezos Family Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the
Liz Blake Giving Fund of the Blake Family Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for
their support.
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