Thrive Asheville brings together local community advocates, policymakers, and professionals from varied fields and backgrounds to find impartial solutions to our city’s toughest challenges. We connect some of Asheville's smartest problem-solvers with research and tools they may not have the budget or capacity to easily access on their own. Then we design the best community solutions together so that all in our city can thrive.
We collaborate with local residents and leaders from varied perspectives to understand our city’s challenges, forge new relationships, and act on the best solutions together.
Asheville is a place where all thrive—we share in the beauty and prosperity of our city because we are impartial, sustainable, and connected.
Thrive Asheville is made up of people from communities across Asheville. We work together with all groups to make Asheville better for all.
Thrive’s approach is place-based, meaning that we understand the issues, interconnections and relationships in Asheville and coordinate action and investment to improve the quality of life for our community.
We envision a transformed community and we work for change that significantly improves life conditions for local residents.
Thrive brings people together with varied perspectives and backgrounds to engage in deep connection, understand complex problems, and identify shared solutions – accomplished by building trust over time.
We find new strategies for moving the community forward, in order to create greater equity and address systemic and interrelated challenges.
By operating in a way that is open, trustworthy and inclusive, Thrive helps bridge differences and builds a stronger, more unified community.
Dr. Leah Ferguson brings over two decades of local knowledge, public health leadership, and systems change expertise to her role as Executive Director of Thrive Asheville. She is well-versed in the issues and challenges facing Asheville and Buncombe County, and has earned a reputation for effective strategic facilitation, meaningful civic engagement, and community-driven organizational development. Her deep connections with local and regional leaders, public officials and myriad stakeholders have helped her build influential partnerships across diverse constituencies.
Prior to joining the Thrive team, Dr. Ferguson served as the Director of Evaluation at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, where she led multi-million-dollar initiatives focused on community-based solutions and supported high-performing collaboratives dedicated to equity and participatory practices. Her extensive background includes coaching place-based teams in rural communities, developing collaborative governance processes, and facilitating collective impact initiatives across the United States.
She holds a Doctor of Public Health degree with a Community & Behavioral Health Concentration from East Tennessee State University, and also earned a Certificate in Strategic Frameworks for Nonprofit Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Nonprofit Leadership Program.
Kate has worked at the intersection of community development, education, and equity throughout her career. She has led nonprofit organizations for more than 18 years. Kate believes that the collective impact approach to organizing and steering community energy towards meaningful goals can move the needle on issues we care about in Buncombe County.
Kristal Perez is the Program Manager at Thrive Asheville, with experience in budget management, program design, and community engagement. She supports organizational priorities by developing customized programs, leading trainings, and using data to assess impact and strengthen collaboration across partners.
Kristal is a participant in the Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) program, which supports leaders working collaboratively to advance racial equity through strong leadership and shared learning.
She holds a Nonprofit Fundamentals Certificate from WNC Nonprofit Pathways and a Pathways to Leadership Certificate from the Center for Participatory Change and The Campaign School at Yale University.
2025 - 2026 Board of Directors:
Matt Allen, Land of the Sky Assoc. of Realtors (LOTSAR), • Larry Crosby, Foundry Hotel • David Feingold , Public Radio Executive, ret. • George Glackin, Hatch AVL • Kim McGuire, McGuire Consulting, ret. • Pete Perez, Executive and Community Arts, ret. • Missy Sherburne, Education and Technology • Lisa-Gaye Hall • Nonprofit Executive, Legal Sector • Patrick Fitzsimmons, Mayor of Weaverville • Justice Rogers, Federal Law Enforcement (ret.); Community Arts
Additionally, Thrive Asheville has several other community-led working groups, formed in support of specific initiatives.
Our working partners include Asheville Housing Authority, Buncombe County, WNC Superheroes, Children First/CIS, City of Asheville, and Pisgah Legal Services.
