Ashlyn W. Sowell

For over twenty-five years Ashlyn W. Sowell has enjoyed a career in development. Her first position was as Director of Development for The Children’s House at Johns Hopkins and The Grant-A-Wish Foundation (now known as the Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Foundation). From there she moved to her alma mater, Duke University, serving as Annual Fund Director at The Fuqua School of Business and a Major Gift Officer at the Medical Center during Duke’s $2 billion campaign. In 2006, Ashlyn joined the development staff at Gettysburg College where she held several key positions. As Associate Vice President for Development & Campaign Director, Ashlyn led the planning, leadership, and public phases of Gettysburg’s $150 million campaign, working closely with the president and board of trustees. Her move back to Johns Hopkins as Senior Director of Development for the Department of Medicine and the Heart & Vascular Institute in 2015 took her career full circle back to working in health care with grateful patients during the Rising to the Challenge Campaign. In 2018, she accepted a newly created role to work closely with Donor and Volunteer Engagement, Special Events, and Donor Communications and to begin planning for the institution’s next campaign. She is an active speaker and writer in the field and loves to mentor newcomers to development.