Juanita Ashburne serves as Catalyst's Development Director, and has been in nonprofit management for nearly 20 years. Her experience includes securing sponsorship, budget reporting, forecasting, volunteer management, Community and Corporate Partnerships, and implementing Community Initiatives. She successfully works on National, Statewide, and local Community Outreach and Corporate Giving engagement opportunities. She has secured funding with small businesses as well as Fortune 500 companies, including Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Ashley Furniture, CarMax, Capital One, Chevrolet, JCPenney, Microsoft, Old Navy, Taco Bell, Walmart, and Wells Fargo. Juanita has also secured grant funding from Federal and State Government entities, including the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Through her many years of experience, she has become a Peer Reviewer, Surveyor, and Consultant for fellow nonprofit organizations during grant application cycles. Her passion for health equity drives her to recruit and collaborate with other health organizations, gaining financial support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Community Foundation of Virginia.

A graduate of Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications and Television/Radio Broadcasting, Juanita has been able to use her voice as a community activist and volunteer for many health disparities that plague communities of color across the Nation. Her background in radio as an On-Air Personality and Producer allowed her to bring many facets of public health matters to the forefront. Her professional accolades and certifications in Health Equity have given her opportunities to work on national cohorts, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and a national pilot for Capacity Building with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Office of Health Equity and Health Disparities for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center. She has become a Subject Matter Expert spearheading solutions, creating Medical Neighborhoods, transferrable referral systems, standing orders, and policy changes to many chronic diseases plaguing communities in Virginia.

Juanita resides in Greater Richmond with her son, Jackson, and their family dog, Kobe. She enjoys cooking, reading, journaling, photography, and traveling.