Performances + Events
New England Conservatory alumna Asha Carroll (MM ’13) has announced that she is among 205 leaders selected to join the Obama Foundation Leaders program for 2024-2025. The program trains participants around the world in leadership development and civic engagement to help build their skills and scale their work across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Asha will be one of just 100 Leaders participating in the Leaders USA program.
Asha is the Assistant Vice President of Community Campaigns for the National Stigma Initiative at Shatterproof, a national nonprofit providing trusted guidance and support to communities in an effort to reverse the addiction crisis in the United States. She leads the National Stigma Initiative’s statewide public health communications interventions to measurably drive attitude change and reduce the stigma of substance use disorder (SUD), currently serving 27% of the U.S. population. Asha’s team employs a community-driven, contact-based digital campaign strategy informed by the Shatterproof Addiction Stigma Index (SASI), a first-of-its-kind national survey that assesses SUD knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Before Shatterproof, Asha was the Communications Director and Spokesperson of the Vermont Democratic Party. She is a former school board member and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Award-winning startup founder in the social impact space.
“After nearly a decade in consumer brands and politics, I was mobilized to end the stigma of addiction after experiencing its devastating impact on my family, my community, and the arts industry where I began my career. At Shatterproof we are working for a future where people with SUDs have hope, feel heard, and can get the tools they need to thrive,” Asha said. “I am energized to learn from other leaders working on issues like democracy, civic engagement, climate change, and education, as well as those who share my goal of building supportive communities and improving health outcomes in the United States. I can’t wait to bring these lessons back to my work at the National Stigma Initiative in communities across the country, and to the NEC community.”
As part of the six-month program, Obama Foundation Leaders will convene virtually each week for interactive sessions designed to help them drive change by honing their leadership skills, building deep relationships with their peers, and engaging with thought leaders and members of the Obama Foundation community. They will also have an opportunity to participate in various virtual experiences and special events, including one-on-one conversations with experienced mentors in the Foundation’s global network.
The Obama Foundation Leaders USA Program, now in its second year, was inspired by the leadership values and approach of President and Mrs. Obama. The program draws on the Foundation’s ‘Hope to Action’ curriculum to support Leaders in engaging diverse perspectives, building collective power, and making tangible, sustainable progress towards a better world. The Leaders USA Program has a particular focus on strengthening democratic culture.
The Obama Foundation Leaders program is designed to further inspire, empower, and connect emerging leaders from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States to change their respective communities and the world. To learn more, visit obama.org/leaders.
To learn more about Asha’s work, visit shatterproof.org.
