USF St. Petersburg alum Ashley Lowery is on a mission to change lives. As President and CEO of the Homelessness Empowerment Program (HEP), Lowery oversees a team that provides food, housing and clothing for just under 400 individuals and families, including veterans, every day.
“It’s a dream come true to work for an organization you believe in, to wake up in the morning and it doesn’t feel like having to go to work,” Lowery said.
Lowery leads about 70 staff members at the eight-acre HEP campus in Clearwater, where individuals receive services such as child care and job training. Veterans have access to a clubhouse, garden, dining hall and kitchen, as well as on-site medical care and mental health counseling.
After she graduated with a B.S. in marketing from USF St. Petersburg’s Kate Tiedemann College of Business in 2012, Lowery was on the look-out for a job in the non-profit sector that would complement her experience and desire to give back. She applied to an open position as the marketing coordinator at HEP and secured the job.
Over the next few years, Lowery’s responsibilities expanded. First, she was promoted to director of marketing. When the director of development left for another job, Lowery absorbed those responsibilities as well. In 2017, when the CEO position opened up, Lowery put her name in the hat, interviewed with the executive committee and was selected for the job.
“As a member of the Board of Directors of HEP, I have had the opportunity to watch Ashley grow over a period of several years from Marketing Coordinator to Director of Marketing and Development,” said Kate Tiedemann. “When an opportunity arose to elect a new CEO, HEP management proposed Ashley for that position and the Board voted to elect her two years ago. I am very proud of Ashley for ‘taking the bull by the horns’ and immersing herself in the work to be done.”
As a non-profit, HEP seeks donations in order to keep providing its services. One of Lowery’s primary responsibilities is fundraising to support HEP’s $6-million budget. The organization has partnered with the Pinellas County School Board and plans to build 39 family units in the next year or two. For that, Lowery is helping raise an additional $6 million.
Since becoming CEO, Lowery has returned to USFSP and taken several courses within the MBA program, with plans to finish her master’s in the coming years. Lowery said her experience at USF St. Petersburg helped her transition into such a high-profile position.
“The real world advice that you get in the classroom translates so well into what I do day-to-day in the business world,” she said. “I think a lot of people are under the impression that as a nonprofit, you don’t really have to run yourself as a business, but you truly do.”