When our current President & CEO, Valerie (Hill) Beichner, announced her career shift back in January, our board and staff teamed up to find our next leader. After many rounds of interviews, presentations, and meetings with our staff, we have officially selected our best candidate. Starting September 16, 2024, Ash Andrews (they/them) will serve as the Venture Outdoors President & CEO. 

Ash comes to us from their Executive Director position at Creative Reuse, where they spent many years at the intersection of sustainability and the arts. Many of you may have already met Ash, as they have served as a Volunteer Trip Leader with us for many years. We’re thrilled to have such a talented, passionate, and community-driven leader at our helm. Ash is joining us at a great time, in which we are wrapping up Kayak Pittsburgh concessions and beginning plans for 2025.

Get to Know Ash Andrews

Biography

Ash Andrews is an experienced, passionate, and visionary leader with a successful 10+ year history of working in Pittsburgh’s nonprofit management ecosystem. Originally from the rolling foothills of the Laurel Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains, Ash now lives in Pittsburgh with their partner, scores of houseplants, and a lively beagle and chihuahua duo.

Ash holds a BA in Humanities from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, and attended classes ranging from filmmaking to nature writing at Savannah College of Art and Design, Seton Hill University, and the University of Amsterdam. After a year-long, immersive experience in permaculture philosophy and application in Hawaii, Ash moved back to the Pittsburgh region to continue their exploration of sustainable, thriving communities. In 2016, Ash became the Executive Director of sustainability and arts nonprofit, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, after working at the center in various roles for 5 years. In 2020, Ash was named a 40 Under 40 awardee by Pittsburgh Magazine. 

A strong believer in the power of community and volunteerism, Ash is a current board member of the East End Food Co-op Federal Credit Union, a volunteer workshop producer with the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University, and a trip leader with Venture Outdoors focusing on hiking, biking, and paddling adventures. Ash is a proud member of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club and spends their free time engrossed in the study, exploration, and appreciation of our natural world. 

Ash is honored to have been included in many regional learning and leadership development cohorts, including a multi-year Arts Innovation and Management cohort through DeVos Institute of Arts Management with industry leader Michael Kaiser, Nonprofit Real Estate cohort through Bridgeway Capital, Urban Green Council: Operations and Maintenance through Green Building Alliance, and the upcoming Beyond Diversity: Leading Change for Racial and Disability Justice cohort through the FISA Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, and The Pittsburgh Foundation.

With a special focus on cultivating accessibility, equity, inclusion, and kindness in the spaces they inhabit, Ash leads their teams with care, compassion, and an intentional movement towards community building and belonging.