Rudy Ash ’98, is a senior development officer for the Posse Foundation, a nationally recognized non-profit organization that sends hundreds of urban public high school student leaders to top colleges and universities each year with four-year, full-tuition scholarships. He is a passionate advocate for access and equity in education, and was heavily influenced toward his current career path by his experiences at Townsend Harris and at college.
At Carnegie Mellon University, he served as a tutor for the Role Models Program, an after-school program that brought grade school students from Pittsburgh’s Hill District to the university three times per week. Following graduation, he started his career in fundraising as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at New York Youth at Risk, an organization that provides mentors for high-risk youth. He then followed
his wife to Chicago, and subsequently landed a job as a grant writer for a community center that provided a variety of services to low-income children and families before moving to his current position at The Posse Foundation.
Over his career, Rudy has raised more than $5 million for non-profit groups. He also currently serves as a board member and as the social action chairman of his synagogue, Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel, where he organizes and promotes volunteer activities for hundreds of members.