Mompreneurs: Building HBCU Legacies With Ashley Christopher

This week on the Mompreneurs podcast, Ashley Christopher shares how the HBCU Week Foundation came to be the powerhouse organization it is today—facilitating over 10,000 on-the-spot college acceptances and securing more than $100 million in scholarship funding for young people heading to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Christopher sat down with Mompreneurs host Nancy Redd to reflect on the incredible journey that led her to this point—helping brilliant young people reach their fullest potential by attending their dream HBCUs.

HBCU Week

What began as a college fair activation in 2017 became a weeklong annual event. HBCU Week—an experience for students, alumni, and the community at large—features a full slate of festivities including concerts, comedy shows, their annual block party, and more.

“It’s about showing students what HBCU culture is all about.”
Ashley Christopher

“Introducing students to that cultural experience is incredibly enticing for them,” said Christopher. “And by the time they get to the college fair that Friday, they already know where they want to go, what schools they want to talk to, and it is an incredible experience.”

A job at the mayor’s office set the wheels in motion.

The HBCU Week Foundation originated as a local program in Christopher’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. As special assistant to Mayor Mike Purzycki, she was tasked with developing programming for the city’s underserved communities. “I decided to lean into education,” she said.

The program began as a college fair activation in Wilmington designed to introduce young people to the HBCU college acceptance process, where they could “engage with recruiters and see what the culture is about.”

“As a two-time HBCU alum, it’s often difficult to articulate how much of an impact these institutions have had on my life,” said Christopher. “So I count it as a responsibility to expose as many students to that opportunity.”

The program was well received in her city—allowing Christopher to see its potential beyond Wilmington. “When I started to market that idea, I expected about 200 students back in 2017. But that number spiked to 700, so I knew that if there was that kind of an appetite in Wilmington for an HBCU experience, that the potential for this was boundless.”

As a licensed attorney, Christopher could have settled at a law firm for a larger paycheck. But something told her to take a job at the mayor’s office—a decision that ultimately set her on the path to founding the HBCU Week Foundation.

“The mayor is my number one supporter,” she said. “His connections were mine. He would include me in the conversations. He would talk to me about ways and strategies to build this organization.”

Mayor Purzycki even helped her navigate the process of transitioning the city program into her own initiative. “It has really positioned me to win. He didn’t have to do it, but he did.”

It’s about building a generation.

Fundraising has played a major role in the foundation’s growth, with Christopher brokering multimillion-dollar partnerships to unlock transformative scholarship opportunities for students. “When I go to these companies and advocate for these dollars, they know that this is for the purpose of building a generation,” she said.

The foundation currently offers some full-ride scholarships, but Christopher’s long-term goal is to expand on that even further. “One day I want to be able to say, ‘Start to finish, we have all of the funds that you need, no matter what you want to study.’”

Her son is continuing her HBCU legacy.

Mompreneurs: Ashley Christopher — Source: Ashley Christopher

Christopher’s son will carry her legacy forward by attending her alma mater Howard University. It’s a full circle moment.

“I actually found out I was expecting while I was enrolled at Howard University and he was three months old at my graduation. So we’ve kind of grown up together, if that makes sense,” said Christopher. “There’s no blueprint to parenting, but we’ve learned together.”

Advice for aspiring mompreneurs

“Whatever it is that you may be scared to do, that may keep you up at night, whatever that idea is—that thing, that burning desire that you may be scared to move on—do it. Look at me and know that it’s possible.”

Get the full conversation. Watch or listen to this episode of Mompreneurs above.

Catch new episodes of ‘Mompreneurs’ every week.

Every week, we celebrate beautiful Black entrepreneurs who are simultaneously amazing business moguls and awesome moms. Join host and New York Times bestselling author Nancy Redd as these mompreneurs share their life stories and inspiring advice. Catch new episodes of Mompreneurs every Monday on MadameNoire’s YouTube channel. Or listen to the podcast online on the Urban One Podcast Network.

Mompreneurs: Building HBCU Legacies With Ashley Christopher