Ashley (she/her) is fueled by the idea that we all deserve to live in a just world and achieve our full potential. Ashley hails from the South, and her family's deep southern roots greatly inspired her path. The spirit of the South taught Ashley to stay rooted in community, generosity, and to take care of each other and Mother Earth. Growing up with access to opportunities that most young Black women around her didn’t have, Ashley feels driven to be in solidarity with and to shift power to those who have been historically denied it.

“Philanthropic capital can help fund the path for change we so badly need. It starts with listening and moving money to those who have been hurt the most, those who have been hit hardest by structural oppression,” says Ashley. As the director of operations, Ashley weaves this ethos into everything Libra does – grantmaking, grants management and grants analyses, aligning the foundation’s investments with its mission, and operations . Ashley works with team members across the organization to ensure Libra practices what it preaches – smoothly, sustainably, and humbly. 

Ashley has a BA in Economics from Spelman College and a MBA from Harvard Business School. She formerly served as Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) Director of Grantee Impact & Strategic Initiatives, where she co-led SV2’s strategic planning process, revised the organization’s capacity building strategy, and led several strategic initiatives. Prior to joining SV2’s team, Ashley consulted with a range of nonprofits, including Kiva.org, Faces SF, and BUILD. She’s a 2017-2018 Harmony Initiative Fellow with the Justice Funders Network, a 2021-2022 Just Economy Institute Fellow, and a 2022 member of the Justice Funders Just Transition Investment Community.

You can find Ashley reading and listening to as many books as she can get her hands on, hiking with her family and Wheaten terrier, and knitting up a storm. 

Director of Operations

Originally posted on November 8, 2021 as a part of Trust-Based Philanthropy Project’s series on Mapping The Movement to Redistribute Power.

“We’re still deepening our understanding about what trust feels like on both sides of the equation and how to keep building it with each and every interaction.  We see ourselves as on a learning journey with our grantee partners, and it’s unfolding as we go.” – Ashley Clark, Director of Operations, The Libra Foundation

In We’re About Building Relationships, Not Creating Barriers, Ashley Clark shares how Libra’s focus on centering relationships impacts everything we do, from hiring to the way we approach grantmaking.

Thank you Trust-Based Philanthropy Project for including us in your critical work.

Originally posted on November 8, 2021 as a part of Trust-Based Philanthropy Project's series on Mapping The Movement to Redistribute Power.

Mapping the Movement to Redistribute Power

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