Systems that serve people —
not the other way around.
I help mission-driven leaders clarify strategy, build durable organizations, and design the conditions for equity to become infrastructure — not just intention.
Let's talk about your work →I build systems that outlast the moment — and the individual.
For 15 years, I've worked at the intersection of equity, strategy, and organizational design — mostly inside institutions that weren't fully built for the work. I spent nearly a decade at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science founding and leading CS Pathways, a nationally recognized initiative that grew from a $1M experiment to a $5M+ program serving thousands of students annually.
What I learned is that good intentions aren't enough. Real change requires formal systems: for decision-making, for staff support, for measuring what matters, for building trust across historical divides. That's what I bring to clients — the ability to see both the structural and the human, and to design for both at once.
"The structures we build either hold people up or wear them down. I've spent fifteen years learning — and living — the difference."
Strategy & Organizational Design
For leaders navigating growth, complexity, or inflection. Clarity that translates into structure — not just vision documents.
- Multi-year strategic planning & theory of change
- Program portfolio design & prioritization
- Organizational design aligned to strategy
- Executive & board-level advising
Partnerships, Philanthropy & Ecosystem Building
From shared intent to shared execution. I design philanthropic strategies and cross-sector coalitions that actually hold.
- Philanthropic strategy & portfolio design
- Cross-sector partnership development
- Network & ecosystem-building
- Learning agendas & impact narratives
Leadership, Culture & Equity Infrastructure
Equity embedded in operations — not layered on top. Systems that support people doing hard work inside resistant institutions.
- Organizational culture & staff development
- Equity-informed HR & onboarding design
- Manager coaching across difference
- Transitional & interim leadership support
Building CS Pathways from a $1M experiment into a national model for equitable computing education
When I took over a stalled grant project in 2016, I had $800K, no staff, and a blank slate. What followed was nine years of building — programs, partnerships, culture, and the organizational infrastructure to sustain it all. By 2022, CS Pathways served 5,000+ youth annually, achieved 100% college matriculation for residential program graduates, and was adopted as a model by the University of Washington.
The work required simultaneous attention to student outcomes, staff wellbeing, institutional politics, funder relationships, and community trust — often in conflict with each other. The result was a blueprint for what equity work looks like when it's built as a system rather than a program.
Get in touch to learn more →Hiring as a Values Practice: From the Candidate's Perspective
On job description design, work sample equity, and what it means to treat hiring as an expression of organizational values — not just a sourcing problem.
Read →AI Applications in Education Equity
Panelist alongside MIT, Google.org, and the McGovern Foundation on the intersection of AI and equitable access. Two global initiatives launched from this convening.
View panel →Invited Speaker & Panelist
Spotify · Google · Microsoft · National Partnership for Educational Access · International Telecommunication Union · and others on equity, STEM, and systems change.
Invite Ashley to speak →Writing on equity, systems, and the work of building organizations that last
Sign up to be notified when new pieces are published — on organizational culture, equity infrastructure, and what it actually takes to make change stick.
Get notified →Ready to build something that lasts?
Whether you're navigating a strategic inflection, building equity infrastructure from the ground up, or trying to make a coalition actually hold — I'd love to hear about your work.
Thanks — I'll be in touch soon at ashley@sharedfuturesadvisory.com
Project-based strategy engagements
Advisory retainers
Interim or embedded leadership
Planning sprints & diagnostics
Pittsburgh, PA
Available for remote and regional engagements