Daniel O. Ash

Daniel Ash is president of the Field Foundation of Illinois, a private and independent foundation that invests in civic infrastructure, the cultural sector, local news outlets, and organizers to support power building in Chicago. Along with its strategic partners, the Field Foundation distributes more than $10 million annually to organizations and leaders working to address systemic issues in historically marginalized areas of the city.

Prior to his current role, Ash was associate vice president of Community Impact for The Chicago Community Trust, and he previously served as the Trust’s chief marketing officer. Before that, he spent 10 years as vice president of Chicago Public Media.

Ash earned his M.P.P. from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Economics from Oberlin College. He completed a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at Princeton University. He was selected as a Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow in 2023, and he has been recognized as a Crain’s Chicago Notable Leader in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.