Plymouth Township-based Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) has named Ashley Flintoff as its new executive director.
Flintoff, who will begin her new role on July 8, is set to lead FOTR with a focus on planning, program evolution, organizational policies, and ensuring the organization’s fiscal stability.
“Following a nationwide search, we selected Ashley due to her extensive nonprofit, planning, sustainability, small business, and academia experience,” says Jessica Eiland Anders, president of the FOTR board. “As we continue to work to restore and enhance the 466 miles of the watershed, Ashley is the ideal leader to uphold our core values of integrity, and stewardship and to continue to push forward our mission of education and preservation.”
Flintoff has served as Wayne State University’s director of planning and space management for the Facilities Planning and Management Department for the past seven years. She also has taught urban planning process in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Wayne State.
Flintoff also has been an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, where she taught courses on regional sustainability, community development for institutions, social media for nonprofits, and presentation skills. A dual graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy, Flintoff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture and a Master of Community Development degree. She also earned a master’s degree in urban planning from Wayne State University. She is a founding board member of the Volterra-Detroit Foundation and a former board member of the Association for Community Design.
“The Friends of the Rouge has a long history of extensive engagement and advocacy for the Rouge River Watershed and the communities it serves,” says Flintoff. “I am looking forward to working closely with staff, membership, volunteers and community members to further this work and to build a legacy for a clean, accessible watershed.”
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