Dr. Ashawnda Fleming
Dr. Ashawnda Fleming is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The A. Marie Cares Foundation. She possesses more than twenty years of nonprofit management experience. Dr. Fleming has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Psychological Foundation and the Executive Director of the Hetrick Martin Institute New Jersey. She has also served as Chief Development Officer to national nonprofits including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Prevent Child Abuse, and First Candle/SIDS Alliance. She is a skilled fundraiser with proven ability to raise significant revenue, both cash and in-kind, by masterfully communicating the essential mission of an organization. Her efforts have raised millions.
Her career of service began in the late 1990s when she was appointed to the position of Vice President of Clinical Compliance for the largest substance abuse and mental health provider in the Mid-Atlantic region, which included managing a staff of 150. She has written, secured and supervised national research initiatives funded by the National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Justice.
Dr. Fleming served as a working member on the Campaign for Mental Health Reform with the late Senator Kennedy and other national legislators. The Campaign was instrumental in passing the National Mental Health Parity Act of 2008. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University. In 2018 Dr. Fleming was selected as 1 of 10 National Fellows by the New York Women's Foundation. The Fellowship entitled: “Leading the Way: Building the Pipeline of Women of Color Leaders in the Social Sector" represented a capacity-building and leadership initiative designed to support the efforts of women of color who are emerging leaders working in the field of social services in the United States.
Dr. Fleming holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from The American University in Washington, D.C., a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Thomas University in Miami, FL, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL.