About
Blake Ashby lives in Ferguson, Missouri, with his wife Dara (and dogs). He was previously a member of the City Council of Ferguson, representing the 2nd Ward. A longtime entrepreneur, he has helped start several successful businesses. He writes the occasional commentary for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other publications and is an occasional talk radio guest.
During the Ferguson unrest Dara and Blake were deeply involved in the efforts to help the community move forward. They were regularly interviewed by local and national press and appeared in the Arts & Entertainment special “A Conversation on Race”, hosted by recording artist John Legend. In 2013 they helped start an innovative program to teach capitalism to urban youth. The program was eventually included in the Urban League’s Save Our Sons workforce development program for adults and eventually coalesced into The Institute For Urban Capitalism (www.theiuc.org) with Blake continuing as a volunteer teacher.
Many years ago he was involved in Republican politics, working for Missouri House Member Jim Talent and for Missouri State Treasurer Wendall Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign. With 1990 U.S. Congressional candidate Mack Holekamp he co-authored “The Battle for America: The Rebirth of the Individual," which traced the evolution of U.S. Liberalism through the scope of utopian movements. Frustrated by the direction of the Republican Party, he ran as a protest candidate in the 2004 Republican Presidential Primary.
As an entrepreneur and consultant Blake has been involved with dozens of early-stage companies. He helped raise the first round of funding for SAVVIS Communications, for several years the world’s fastest Internet backbone provider and also oversaw mpXML, a data standards organization for the U.S. meat and poultry industry. He helped start The Delmar Lounge, for many years one of St. Louis’ most popular nightspots. Blake also served as an executive coach for Washington University’s Olin School of Business Hatchery program for several years. Dara and Blake are members of Faith Church St. Louis.
During the Ferguson unrest Dara and Blake were deeply involved in the efforts to help the community move forward. They were regularly interviewed by local and national press and appeared in the Arts & Entertainment special “A Conversation on Race”, hosted by recording artist John Legend. In 2013 they helped start an innovative program to teach capitalism to urban youth. The program was eventually included in the Urban League’s Save Our Sons workforce development program for adults and eventually coalesced into The Institute For Urban Capitalism (www.theiuc.org) with Blake continuing as a volunteer teacher.
Many years ago he was involved in Republican politics, working for Missouri House Member Jim Talent and for Missouri State Treasurer Wendall Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign. With 1990 U.S. Congressional candidate Mack Holekamp he co-authored “The Battle for America: The Rebirth of the Individual," which traced the evolution of U.S. Liberalism through the scope of utopian movements. Frustrated by the direction of the Republican Party, he ran as a protest candidate in the 2004 Republican Presidential Primary.
As an entrepreneur and consultant Blake has been involved with dozens of early-stage companies. He helped raise the first round of funding for SAVVIS Communications, for several years the world’s fastest Internet backbone provider and also oversaw mpXML, a data standards organization for the U.S. meat and poultry industry. He helped start The Delmar Lounge, for many years one of St. Louis’ most popular nightspots. Blake also served as an executive coach for Washington University’s Olin School of Business Hatchery program for several years. Dara and Blake are members of Faith Church St. Louis.