Naomi Asher - The Maven

Maven: /ˈmāvən/ From Yiddish meyvn, meaning “one who understands” or “a trusted person who passes timely and relevant knowledge to others”

Naomi is a long-time resident of East Tennessee. She attended Johnson University where she graduated with a double major in Music and Theology. After graduation, she worked in several different industries before finding her passion for non-profit work. She was hired as the Executive Director of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland in 2010. While there she expanded the geographic service area, more than doubled the budget, created an endowment and reserve as well as increased volunteer numbers by double and retention rates from 41% to 92%. Naomi served on the Tennessee CASA Board and as a Regional Coordinator which allowed her to win and administer grants for the East Region as well as create regional marketing campaigns. She graduated from King University with her MBA in Marketing in 2012.

In May of 2015, she was hired as the Executive Director of the United Way of Anderson, Campbell, Morgan and Scott Counties where she increased the budget by 42% as well as the geographic service area. She revised and rebuilt the grant-making process as well as created several community initiatives. She implemented annual Community Needs Assessments and provided technical training and support to other nonprofits. She is passionate about helping others thrive.

Currently, Naomi is a full-time consultant and Doctoral Candidate at Carolina University where she is researching Nonprofit Executive Burnout.

Naomi is a graduate of the Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness through the University of Tennessee, Leadership Oak Ridge, Leadership Anderson County, and East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association. She is the Chair of Explore Oak Ridge, Past-President of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Past-President of the Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge, a founding member of the Anderson County Young Professionals, and a board member of the Oak Ridge Center for Leadership and Community Development and the Oak Ridge Land Bank. She has served as the President of the United Ways of Tennessee and a Regional Representative on the TN CASA Association Board.

In 2017 she was named the Anderson County Chamber Young Professional of the Year, was the 2018 recipient of the East Tennessee Economic Council’s Postma Young Professional Medal and the 2021 Oak Ridge Chamber Young Professional of the Year.

She lives and plays in Oak Ridge with her husband Ryan, dog Winnie, and 3 cats Jerome, Miley and Rhaenyra. They are a foster family with a heart for teenagers.