Ashley Walden is the Co-Founder, President & Executive Director of Unlock Creative Foundation Inc. She is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Unlock Creative: Coaching & Management Solutions LLC. Ashley is a proven leader, change agent, and visionary. She is a focused executive who effectively manages day-to-day operations of multi-layered organizations while keeping equity and inclusiveness at the forefront. Ashley has 18 years of experience in nonprofit management and community-based arts business administration. She is a diligent producer driven by authenticity and a love of people.

Ashley is also the Founder and current President of the National Black Women’s Creative Cooperative, a worker-owned limited liability cooperative and mutual aid network of Black women creatives whose mission is to liberate Black Women from oppressive and toxic work environments, generate wealth owned and stewarded by and for us toward a goal of political and financial freedom. 

Ashley built her career at Alternate ROOTS, a nearly 50-year-old Southern-based regional arts service organization for artists, cultural bearers, and organizers. She held several roles including Managing Director, Program Director, and Director of Strategic Partnerships. Ashley was the Associate Producer for Cornerstone Theater Company based in Los Angeles who creates socially relevant plays with communities throughout the USA. She has also been a Lecturer at University of California at Longbeach, an Assistant Professor of Theater at Kennesaw State University in GA, and served on the Board of Directors of Appalshop based in Whitesburg, KY.

Ashley was a founding leader of the Next Generation National Arts Network, a coalition of artists and administrators from across the United States who have set out to chart the course for being the future leaders of the arts field. Ashley has done work with HartBeat Ensemble, Towne Street Theater, Elizabeth River Theater, Virginia Stage, Arena Stage, Mississippi Center for Cultural Production, and the Timothy Smith Network. She is a proud member of Alternate ROOTS and Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA). 

She holds an MFA in Producing from California Institute of the Arts and a BA in Theatre Studies from Old Dominion University. Some selected honors include the Association of Performing Arts Professional (APAP) Leadership Fellowship, Theater Communications Group (TCG) New Generations: Future Leaders Grant, and Cornerstone Theater Company Paula Altvater Fellowship.

Ashley Walden

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Donna Carter

Donna Carter is the Financial Manager at Unlock Creative and the owner of Carter Financial Services. She is an experienced finance professional with 20+ years providing innovative tax planning, taxation, consulting, and compliance expertise. She is skilled in primary and secondary review and preparation of financial statements, complex tax returns, which include consolidated multi-state corporate, operating and investment partnership, personal income tax, not-for-profit, fiduciary, and gift tax returns. She possesses strong leadership, excellent communication, and organizational skills.

She is a Certified Quickbooks Online Accountant, Microsoft Educator Certified and Microsoft Office Certified. Donna holds a MA, M.S., in Taxation from Suffolk University in Boston and MA, B.B.A., in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts. She brings compassion, laughter, and joy to the work with communities that Unlock Creative Services.

Learn more about Cartner Financial Services at the link.

Unlock Creative Enterprises, Financial Manager

Serica Weaver

Serica is she is a Creative Flowers Professional Sistah Circle Alum, a 2022 Shay Wafer Executive Management Fellow, and now services as Creative Flowers Facilitator and Creative Associate & Consultant.

Serica Weaver is an author, designer, and visual artist. Her passion for mental wellness, mindfulness, and love for all things creative led to her publishing her first book, "Love, Serica: A free spirit’s journey to living, breathing, and existing authentically."

She began her creative journey at Spelman College studying Studio Art and later received her B.F.A in Interior Design from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Client Liaison & Creative Associate

Core Staff

Supporting Roles

  • Jenna Fleming

    Creative Associate

    Jenna is a 2022 Shay Wafer Executive Management Fellow and currently serves as the Creative Associate at Unlock Creative.

    Jenna is a motivated and creative graduate student passionate about telling important stories and assisting individuals/organizations in sharing their stories with the world through cohesive branding and effective marketing campaigns.

    She is experienced in many business communication channels including social media, email blasts, digital, and public relations. She is a quick learner with a positive attitude ready to make an immediate impact in the nonprofit sector. She is a graduate of UC Irvine of Dance in Fine Arts. She is a CalState LongBeach in Theater Management.

  • Alessandra Brown

    Client Liason & Senior Consultant

    Alessandra Brown is a Strategic Thinker and has experience in Corporate Social Responsibility, Community Engagement, and Outreach initiatives.

    Alessandra Brown is the founder and CEO of A Brown Consulting Group and partner consultant of Unlock Creative. Prior to forming ABC Group, she spent over 15 years focused on Corporate Social Responsibility, Community Engagement, and Outreach initiatives.

    Alessandra led Business Development at Athena Global Advisors, and served as the first Director of the Roxbury Innovation Center dedicated to serving entrepreneurs and students in Boston’s under-served communities.

    She received her M.F.A in Production and Management from California Institute of the Arts and her B.A. in Theater Arts and English from Boston College.

  • Angelina Shea Harris

    Creative Associate

    Angelina Harris is an arts administrator and a creative marketing professional. She has been an intern, fellow, and employee of Unlock Creative. She primarily supports operations by overseeing and developing creative marketing and branding strategies for Unlock and our clients that include brand design, multi-platform marketing, social media and web strategy, and campaign creation. She has experience working with non-profit, for-profit organizations, individual artists, and small businesses. Angelina redesigned the Unlock Creative LLC and developed the Unlock Creative Foundation logos.

    She received her B.A. from University of California San Diego with Highest Honors in Theatre Theory, Class of 2020. She received her MBA & MFA in Theatre Management from the University of California Long Beach in 2023.