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!

Joe is an analytically-minded leader with extensive experience crafting innovative business strategies in the environmental sustainability and tech industries. He brings 9 years of industry experience at leading tech and finance companies, a M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is an expert at using data and compelling visuals to highlight value propositions and win funding, and has a track record of managing interdisciplinary teams through successful project implementations.

Joe's love of sustainability grew out of a childhood spent in the Michigan woods. He started working in this space at a young age when he founded and led the Green Club at his high school.

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.