Irvin Ashford, Jr. ................................................ Comerica Bank

Irvin Ashford, Jr.

COMMUNITY HERO 2013

Irvin Ashford, Jr., Senior Vice President of Corporate and Public Affairs and Director of Community Development and External Affairs for Comerica Bank, has extensive state-wide responsibilities focusing primarily on the Dallas and Houston markets. Ashford joined Comerica Bank in 2000. During his tenure, he has received Comerica’s Volunteer of the Year Award and the Chairman’s Outstanding Achievement Award for leadership and quality. He also has been recognized by the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation (TWEF) for his work in mentoring men and young boys in the Houston area. Ashford was named to the 2007 United States delegate class of the BritishAmerican Project. He is also a Woodrow Wilson International Studies and Public Policy Fellow, an American Marshall Fellow, and a Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius Fellow. In 2008, Ashford earned the Dallas Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader Award for his work and outstanding leadership in the business community. In 2009 Ashford was named a recipient of the C.A.W. Clark Human Relations Award presented by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Greater Dallas. He is also a recipient of the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation 2010 Community Mentor award. In 2012, Ashford was selected as a University of Texas at Dallas Community Diversity Champion and a recipient of the 2012 Champion of the year award given by PeopleFund. His civic and community involvement includes serving on the board of directors for the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation and as a mentor to youth entrepreneurship at Change Happens (formally FUUSA). Comerica Bank partnered with Change Happens! to open its second Community Resource Center in Houston. The new Community Resource Center is housed at Change Happens! headquarters in the heart of Third Ward Houston. The center provides access to a computer lab and new library for 100,000 low- to moderate-income residents — including adults and youth — and is open to the public free of charge during normal business hours. Ashford teaches financial literacy at several Houston area non-profit organizations. In addition, Ashford was instrumental in the success of the Steed Society’s Top 25 Women of Houston Awards which recognizes corporate, non-profit and philanthropic leaders for their works in the community. A lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association, Ashford also is a member of the Urban Financial Services Coalition and the National Forum of Black Public Administrators. A graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, Ashford, earned dual master’s degrees – one in public affairs from the University of Texas and one in business administration from the University of Dallas.

Irvin Ashford, Jr. SVP, Corporate & Public Affairs Director, Community Development & External Affairs Texas Market

Comerica Bank 1717 Main Street Mail Code: 6554 Dallas, Texas 75201 (Office) 214.462.4324