Ashley Putnam

As the Director of the Economic Growth & Mobility Project, Ashley Putnam leads efforts to promote equal access to economic opportunity.  She previously served as the Economic Development Advisor for the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development in New York City, where she oversaw the coordination between economic and workforce development.  To address the issue of economic development through the lens of inclusivity, Ashley facilitated conversations with industry experts, reviewed local hiring policies, and worked on place-based approaches to workforce development in conjunction with economically changing neighborhoods.  Prior to her work with the Mayor’s Office, she spent time at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the research utilization division.

Ashley has volunteered with the Task Force on Fair Work, part of the Women’s City Club of New York, where she helped screen retail partners for fair scheduling practices.  Her work has been published by many notable sources, including Business Insider.  Ashley also founded a fellowship program, the Work First Fellowship, which brought young people into a year of service to work with low-income job seekers and conduct research on the barriers facing these communities.