As the beneficiary of his family’s multi-generational pursuit of their American Dream, Ash has dedicated his career to be in service of our most marginalized students and families and their life pursuits. His dad’s family comes from Mexico and his mom immigrated from the Caribbean; both of his parents are first-generation college graduates. Ash began his career in the classroom as an elementary bilingual education teacher and has held leadership roles at the school, district, and state levels as well as in nonprofit advocacy and national philanthropy organizations. Ash currently serves as the Co-Founder and Partner at the newly launched Bay Ed Fund, which supports families, communities, and school districts to co-design and realize a shared vision for public education that ensures that every student can be prepared to thrive as an adult in the Bay Area. Central to the Bay Ed Fund’s theory of change is reimagining how philanthropy can be a better partner to communities and districts in service of students and families. Ash previously served as Director of Place-based Partnerships at the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. His portfolio supported instructional improvement efforts across traditional and charter school systems. Prior to joining the Schusterman Foundation, Ash served as the Executive Director of GO Public Schools in Oakland, where he and his team were dedicated to cultivating and convening community leaders in service of all Oakland public schools and students. They also led multiple c3, c4, and PAC campaigns to drive policy and electoral outcomes in service of all students. Before joining the GO Public Schools team, Ash helped launch the TN Achievement School District, where he served as the founding Chief Talent and Strategy Officer and then the Executive Director of the Achievement Schools—a network of 5 turnaround schools in Memphis dedicated to ensuring that every child in Frayser can attend an excellent neighborhood school. Under Ash’s leadership, the Achievement Schools achieved the highest possible state rating with respect to student academic growth. Prior to joining the ASD, he worked in the Oakland Unified School District leading various human capital initiatives, including facilitating the development of an effective teaching strategy in collaboration with teacher and union leadership, and managing the principal selection process for the district. He began his career as a 4th grade bilingual teacher in Houston through Teach For America. Ash has also served as an Education Pioneers Summer Fellow, a Broad Resident, and Pahara NextGen Fellow. He has a BA from Dartmouth College, and an MBA and ME from Stanford University. He lives in Davis with his wife, Sara, and their daughters, Ada and Ella, and they love to spend their time cooking and being outdoors.