| Improving the Community: Irvin Ashford, VP Public Affairs |
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Born in Alphabet City on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the only son of a teenage mother, Irvin grew up in poverty. Gifted as a child—he had learned to read at age three—his talents languished in the public school system. Without a father figure, he emulated the older children, skipping school, stealing and taking part in gang activities. Irvin was well on his way to a life of crime. After several encounters with the police, he knew he had to find a way out.
When he was 13, Irvin participated in an educational program with the Boys’ Club of New York City, scored well on an aptitude test and was offered the opportunity to attend a summer school program at the Webb School, a boarding school in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. He did exceptionally well in the program, making the honor roll, and was offered a full scholarship to Webb.
The second African American ever to graduate from Webb, Irvin still never imagined that he would go to college, let alone a prestigious liberal arts institution. The mother of one of his fellow students, however, encouraged him to apply to Oberlin College. Trusting her advice, Irvin applied and was accepted.
Excited and eager to attend college, Irvin felt the impact of his poverty when he realized there was a price to pay. He and his family were virtually penniless, but Oberlin offered him a generous financial aid package, without which college would have been impossible.
Irvin entered Oberlin with the desire to further his education so that he could become rich, putting his poverty-stricken years behind him forever. However, the college gave him a new mission: to help others escape what he had experienced growing up, especially those from communities like his own.
After graduating from Oberlin with a bachelor’s degree, Irvin went on to earn a master’s degree in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (a graduate component of the University of Texas at Austin) and an MBA from the University of Dallas. A 2003 Fellow of the German Marshall Fund, Irvin was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in graduate school.
He began his professional life in New York City as director of economic development for two multi-million-dollar non-profit agencies. He then moved to Texas to work for the City of Dallas as a senior economic development analyst, helping to secure financing for the American Airlines Center and its surrounding infrastructure.
Today, as vice president of public affairs and the Texas Community Reinvestment Act manager for Comerica Bank-Texas Market, Irvin has created or contributed to a number of initiatives that promote economic growth and revitalization by providing support for various charitable foundations and after-school and educational programs, funding single- and multifamily housing units and underwriting arts programs for low to moderate-income children in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Irvin understands that a business can only succeed if the markets it serves are economically healthy and viable, so he has dedicated his life to improving the communities in which he lives and works.
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Irvin Ashford
Oberlin College
Student/Alumni
Giving back is more than just a part-time activity for Irvin Ashford...it's his job, as vice president of public affairs and the Texas Reinvestment Communtiy Act manager for Comerica Bank.
Ashford is Class of 1991 from Oberlin College.
Article furnished by The Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE). Through a collection of alumni stories, COFHE's Take a Closer Look publication encourages a closer look at the ways the COFHE schools - and many others like them - serve the public through the opportunities they provide, the values they instill, and the significant commitment they make to financial aid.
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