The Team at Lionbear Ventures

FOUNDER & CEO

Ashley is a female founder, serial entrepreneur and business leader with extensive quality experience in government contracting, business management of programs, non-profit and small business startups, project proposal development and strategic planning. Her personal values include equitable access to opportunities, executing with the highest integrity, advancing positive social impact, and building teams.

Ashley lived in Italy for 5 years while working for Lockheed Martin to stand up the Italian F35 fighter jet assembly facility. While she was there, she grew to love the agri-tourism experience and an appreciation for all things food and wine. As if that’s not enough, she also gave birth to her 2 children while in Italy (and no, they don’t have Italian citizenship unfortunately….).

SENIOR GRANT WRITER

Shiloh Holley is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) living in Detroit, Michigan. She transitioned to consulting after 15 years of working in non-profits. Her expertise is in building capacity and developing projects for community, education, and arts organizations looking to make a difference in their communities. As a certified grant writer, she has helped clients win over $7.8M in awards.

Shiloh once managed a museum and historic site dating back to 1845, which uniquely included a hot dog restaurant—operating since 1925—as a long-standing tenant!

Meet Sarah, a seasoned veteran with 8 years in small business management experience. With a degree from the Le Cordon Bleu institute at Scottsdale, Sarah has a rich background in the hospitality industry moving into direct client sales for Michigan craft beverage producers. For the past 2 years, she’s worked hand in hand with solo-preneurs and startups offering project coordination and funding application support enabling both real estate developers and small businesses realize renewed economic opportunities in divested communities

Sarah met first Ashley when she was working as a alcohol sales rep and stopped in to the restaurant Ashley owns!

Caroline is adept in the art of securing funding through grant writing and driving business success through digital marketing and sales. Her unique skill set combines the power of compelling storytelling with data-driven marketing strategies, creating a holistic approach to fuel the success of organizations in today's competitive landscape.

Graduate of both the Flint Social Club Food Accelerator and Mott College’s Culinary program, Jessalyn is quickly growing her technical and business expertise in food and hospitality. She’s trained as a sous chef at notable Michigan country clubs and served as the executive chef for a food start up in Flint. With Lionbear, Jessalyn supports clients with menu creation, costing, staff training, launches of new restaurants, and acts as an advisor to small business owners.

Jessalyn joined Lionbear Ventures when Sarah texted her out of the blue and asked if she would like to live and work in Traverse City over the summer while working as a hospitality consultant!

Laura Palombi is a dedicated sustainability professional and Professional Project Manager with over 20 years of experience across industries and sectors. Laura works to reduce barriers to setting and achieving mission-focused goals through strategic planning, providing timely information and insights, facilitating productive stakeholder conversations, and leading cross-functional project teams. Laura earned an MBA and MS in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of Michigan, as well as an MS in Entomology and a BS in Environmental Science and Management from Michigan State University.

BUISNESS MANAGER

As the Business Manager of LionBear Ventures, Joe will partner with CEO Ashley on financial and operational oversight of the company. Joe comes to LionBear after nine years at USAID where he managed operational, financial, and contractual details of federal programs including support to Afghan refugees and aid programs in North Macedonia and Pakistan. Prior to that, Joe was a Peace Corps Volunteer for two years in rural Bulgaria where he taught English and helped implement some small grant programs. Like Ashley, Joe got his career start at Lockheed Martin, training staff on software and learning operations across sites on the East Coast.

Joe is based in Washington, DC where he lives with his two boys, Luc and Will.