12.09.24

MEDIA ADVISORY

Ali Center hires new VP of Fund Development

LOUISVILLE, KY (Dec 9, 2024) – The Muhammad Ali Center recently hired Ashley Parrott as its new Vice President of Fund Development.

Parrott brings more than 15 years of expertise in public policy, fundraising, communications and community engagement to the role at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Previously, she served as a program officer at the James Graham Brown Foundation, which is one of the largest private foundations in Kentucky. In that role, Parrott managed a substantial grantmaking portfolio focused on civic, cultural and human services initiatives as well as community and economic development undertakings in Louisville’s inner city.

At the Muhammad Ali Center, Parrott will manage fundraising strategies that will prepare the nonprofit organization for a new era of mission-related work.

“In 2025, the Muhammad Ali Center will turn 20 years old,” said DeVone Holt, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center. “Ashley will play an important role in helping to secure the resources necessary to bring to life the big, bold vision we have for the center’s future.”

Before her time at the James Graham Brown Foundation, Parrott was the policy director for former Louisville mayor Greg Fischer, overseeing policy initiatives and nonprofit partnerships for Louisville Metro Government. She played a crucial role in developing fundraising strategies for education, health, economic development, public safety and equity initiatives.

Parrott’s career also includes serving as legislative director for the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and deputy policy advisor to former governor Steve Beshear. She has experience in various state and local government roles across Kentucky, Ohio and Washington, D.C.

Active in her community, Ashley chairs the Board of Directors for the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, a former member of the executive committee for the Donor’s Forum of Kentuckiana, a member of the national Association for Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), and was recognized as the 2024 Today’s Woman Magazine’s Most Admired Women in Nonprofit Leadership.

Parrott is a Philanthropy Southeast Hull Fellow, a 2016 Louisville Business First 40 Under 40 award recipient and a 2019 Leadership Louisville Bingham Fellow.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Xavier University (Cincinnati) and a master’s in public policy and administration from the University of Louisville School of Urban and Public Affairs.

Contact:

Annie Moore

Muhammad Ali Center

amoore@alicenter.org

(502) 992 – 5338 or (812) 786 – 1072 mobile