Carolynn Lee | Ascendium Education Group, Inc. Skip to main content

EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

Carolynn Lee

Deputy Director – Education Grantmaking
Leading and supporting grantmaking teams in Ascendium’s Streamline Key Learner Transitions and Support Rural Postsecondary and Workforce Training focus areas.

Carolynn Lee is a deputy director – education grantmaking. In this role she oversees strategic grantmaking pipelines and supports program officers in the Streamline Key Learner Transitions and Support Rural Postsecondary and Workforce Training focus areas. She joined the organization in 2017.

Prior to joining Ascendium, Carolynn worked for Kohler Foundation, Inc., where she managed grantmaking, scholarship awards and community arts programming. Carolynn was also the first full-time program director for the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, where she coordinated regional philanthropic grantmaking and community development. Outside of Ascendium, Carolynn prioritizes grassroots community empowerment initiatives and enjoys organizing around issues related to equity. She has served in volunteer leadership roles with the Iowa Women’s Foundation, the Sheboygan Area Nonprofit Network and the Sheboygan LGBTQ Alliance. She founded Progressive Women of Sheboygan and co-founded Cedar Valley PrideFest.

Raised in Iowa, she earned a Master of Arts degree in Philanthropy & Development from Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Communication from the University of Northern Iowa.

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