Our Leadership Team
Peñalosa is a public affairs veteran and leading voice in the Democratic Party and is a regular on national panels addressing race, power and politics in addition to multiple appearances as a political analyst and contributor for national news outlets including CNN, MSNBC, Politico, the Washington Post, New York Times and Bloomberg.
Prior to joining Amare, Peñalosa held top roles in progressive and Democratic organizations and campaigns including service as the Executive Director of the Florida Democratic Party, and leadership roles on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential Campaign and as a manager and senior strategist on dozens of winning Congressional and statewide issue-based campaigns across the U.S. In addition, Juan has served as a top national fundraiser, raising over $20 million in the 2020 electoral cycle for progressive and Democratic campaigns.
Prior to his work in the political and fundraising space, Peñalosa spent 15 years in crisis communications and international development, specializing in helping sovereign nations, international NGOs and private sector clients across the globe adapt and implement digital, social and financial management models to address a rapidly changing global citizenry.
Juan is a graduate of Boston College, where he received degrees with honors in both Geophysics and Sociology. Peñalosa is active in a number of volunteer and philanthropic pursuits including serving as Chair of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. He is a first generation Colombian-American and lives between Miami and Washington, DC.
Ashley is a managing director of Amare Public Affairs. She comes to Amare with 20 years of experience in winning Democratic and progressive political and issue-based campaigns. Alongside senior roles including serving as political director and Interim Executive Director for the Georgia Democratic Party, McBride led a $25 Million independent expenditure focused on field and communications in Pennsylvania in 2018 and 2020. Their efforts contributed to the wins of Democratic Governor Tom Wolf and Senator Bob Casey as well as four women to the Congressional delegation and delivering the battleground state for Biden in 2020.
Alongside these efforts, McBride is a highly sought after strategist, known for developing successful outreach campaigns in communities of color. She has served in senior roles on many the biggest state and national efforts in the US — from the New Georgia Project which supported the wins of Warnock and Ossuff, Organizing Together 2020 and voting registration efforts in communities of color across the Northeast.
Ashley is a Georgia native, the mother of a new college graduate and splits her time between Washington, DC and Philadelphia.