Ashley Lugo

Ashley Lugo is an arts administrator and aspiring entrepreneur. Lugo earned her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She has worked throughout the city of Chicago for many organizations including the Merit School of Music, Chicago Public Library, and the Latin American Language Center.

As a person of color and proud Latinx she has experienced firsthand the lack of inclusion and diversity in the field of the classical arts. A recipient of the 2016 Social Justice Seed Grant, Ashley was inspired to address this disparity and co-developed Classical Inclusion: A Ground Up Initiative with her business partner Kameron Locke (Chicago-based vocalist and Project Inclusion Administration Freeman Fellow Alum).  With this community music program, Lugo and Locke partnered with local neighborhood libraries to provide free access to after school art activities in neighborhoods whose art education funding had been cut. The pilot program launched at the Rudy Lozano Library of the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago and was a four-week exploration of the disciplines comprised in Art Song. A Ground Up Initiative aims to not only provide access to underrepresented communities but also hire faculty and staff representative of those communities decreasing the need for diversity in this field.

A daughter of first generation Mexican immigrants, she was raised in Las Vegas and moved to Chicago to fulfill her ambitions of becoming a classical musician. Through her studies, she has been fortunate to have met and be mentored by artists and professionals from all corners of the world inspiring to expand her endeavors.

Lugo’s personal mission is to highlight and support marginalized communities of various cultures, races, genders or sexual affiliations, and to challenge classical notions of the art world by supporting those that are silenced, tell their stories and ultimately create a more inclusive human experience.