A team of social entrepreneurs & innovation thought leaders

We draw upon our experience and expertise to best serve our clients.

Barry Barresi, OD, PhD

President & CEO

Barry is an accomplished clinician executive, business entrepreneur, and association CEO. As founding CEO of two tech startups and CEO of two associations, he has successfully led transformational innovation in the nonprofit and business sectors of health care and digital platforms. Along with his role as President and CEO of Association Ventures, he is a Professor of Health Policy at Salus University, School of Public Health. Dr. Barresi is the former CEO of the American Optometric Association and the founding CEO of AOAExcel, Inc., the wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of AOA devoted to providing financial and business services across the country.

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Michelle Asher

Senior Research Analyst

Michelle has nearly a decade of experience working in various finance, accounting, and operations roles with nonprofits and small businesses in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. She has worked with organizations addressing healthcare access, homelessness, and education. Michelle is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and holds a graduate certificate in Social Enterprise, Innovation & Entrepreneurship from the University of Denver. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

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Mike Feinson, MBA

Senior Director

Mike is an organizational change expert, innovation consultant and design thinking facilitator. His ability to bring together people with different opinions and perspectives and enable them to identify entirely new solutions to their challenges, is one strength that has allowed his clients to achieve transformational change. His experience applying appreciative inquiry, design thinking and other collaborative tools, coupled with a client base across a variety of industries, has provided him a unique lens for addressing organizational challenges and generating energy for change. Mike is a faculty member of Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies and the American Management Association where he teaches programs on design thinking and leading disruptive change.  He enjoys cooking, hiking and laughing with his family.  Mike lives with his wife, son and daughter in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Greg Bologna, CAE

Senior Director

Executive with a highly developed strategic vision and skilled at developing and delivering messages as well as leading business operations. Ability to work closely with governing boards and committees. Long history of effective collaboration and creating and maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships. Early adopter of technology and focused on member satisfaction and revenue development. Adept at creating and managing growth in a changing environment.

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