Ascend Nonprofit Solutions

We welcome Hunter Fleshood, MCR to the Ascend board. Hunter, Managing Director at CBRE, has an extensive background in corporate and commercial real estate that will be valuable on our Board and Real Estate Committee. His experience with facilities management will also be beneficial. We’re very excited to have him join us!

We want to wish our Board member, Jaclyn Lee CAMS, CFCS, CFE, CIA, CPA, MBA, all the best as she begins a new endeavor. Jackie has been selected to earn her master’s degree at The Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland over the next two years! We are sad that she is leaving but are very excited for this opportunity. It was a pleasure having Jackie on our Board; she was always engaged and brought a great deal of knowledge and talent. Thank you, Jackie, for your service and for helping us lift nonprofits to greater heights.

Happy 4th of July from all of us at Ascend!

We are thrilled to welcome Matt Donato to our Board of Directors! Matt is a Partner with Echelon Risk + Cyber, a national leading cybersecurity professional services firm. He also gives his time in related board and advisory roles, including on the Advisory Board for ISC2 Charlotte-Metro Chapter. As a highly experienced, entrepreneurial business advisor and thought leader in the cybersecurity and technology risk industry, he brings over 20 years of experience and service to our Board. Welcome Matt!

We are excited to welcome Venton Bell, Jr. to our Board of Directors. Venton works for Duke Energy Corporation. He has a great deal of experience in cybersecurity as the Director of IT Cybersecurity CIP Compliance. We look forward to the expertise he will bring to the Ascend Board.

Ascend is sending good wishes to our partner and friend, Laura Yates Clark, as she embarks on a new journey as the President of the Foundation for the Carolinas. It has been our joy to work with Laura for many years. We are excited to see the continued change she will bring to our community in her new role.

As our fiscal year comes to an end, we say, “Goodbye and thank you” to four at-large Board members and three participating agency Board representatives. Thank you to our outgoing at-large members Emily Cantrell, Amy Johnson, Kelsey N.H. Mayo and Kaumil Shah, JD, CPA for your years of dedication to the Ascend Board. And, thank you to our outgoing participating agency Board representatives Dean F. Cikins, MBA, FACHE, Matt Hawkins and Pamela Wideman. You have helped us lift nonprofits to greater heights through your service.

United Way of Greater Charlotte moved into the Ascend Nonprofit Center in January 2020 after the sale of their long-time building in uptown. Their work is focused on addressing economic mobility and racial inequity by investing in neighborhoods and grassroots nonprofits. This includes the Unite Charlotte and Unite Neighborhoods initiatives. They are also the lead nonprofit for A Home For All, a community-wide effort to address housing instability and homelessness. We are proud to support UWGC and the important work they do through our facilities and shared services!

We are excited to partner with Young World Yoga as their fiscal sponsor. Young World Yoga provides fun and engaging yoga courses for youth and their communities. Their courses are designed to introduce youth to yoga in a relaxed and engaging environment.

Corey Cutler, 365 and Network Administrator, shares his why for working at Ascend, "I enjoy working at Ascend because I want to leverage my expertise to strengthen our Charlotte community. Collaborating with nonprofits in the area not only satisfies my passion for problem-solving but also provides a sense of fulfillment as I witness the impact of my contributions on the organizations and the people they serve. Working closely with nonprofits allows me to connect with like-minded individuals and participate in meaningful service."