Ashlyn Roberts

About Ashlyn Roberts

Ashlyn Roberts works on venture capital policy, focusing on emerging technology, capital markets, healthcare, national security, tech transfer, and procurement. She brings to her role a track record of a decade of effective government relations and leading strategic advocacy for various trade associations, VCs, entrepreneurship groups, and Fortune 100 Tech companies. She specializes in breaking down developments happening in Washington to best position investors and entrepreneurs. She has experience working alongside the Department of Commerce, NIH, Department of Defense, SEC, Small Business Administration, and other agencies in identifying collaborative opportunities at the intersection of private, philanthropic, and public capital. She has provided the venture capital perspective in the rollout of Commerce\'s Tech Hubs and Build Back Regional Challenge initiatives. She currently sits as an adviser to the SEC’s Annual Small Business Forum, which explores policy solutions to expand access to capital. Previously, she advised the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on matters related to entrepreneurship, capital markets, and economic development policy. Dabbling in entrepreneurship herself, she developed and expanded a coalition of 500+ early-stage life science venture capitalists and innovators, where she implemented effective advocacy campaigns, fostered stakeholder engagement, and led thought leadership activities, all of which established the coalition as a trusted resource in the life science sector. She also brings a comprehensive understanding of government relations, as exemplified by her previous work securing increased appropriations funding for the SBA\'s Women’s Business Center program and reauthorization of key programs like the SBIR/STTR program. In 2019, she contributed toward the passage of the U.S./Mexico/Canada free trade agreement (USMCA), assembling stakeholder networks and grassroots/grasstops engagements. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Roberts graduated from Wofford College with degrees in International Affairs and Spanish.

Experience

1. Vice President of Government Affairs

   National Venture Capital Association

   Jan 2025 — Present · Washington, DC, US

Education

• Wofford College

  Bachelor's degree, Spanish Language and Literature

• Wofford College

  Bachelor’s Degree, International Relations and Affairs