At Hire For Hope, we optimize our own team every day, each playing to our strengths through self-awareness by using behavioral data. By knowing what each of us brings to the table, we are able to leverage, value, and appreciate one another as a unified, optimized team. We practice what we preach by living it, walking it, and breathing it.
THE HIRE FOR HOPE TEAM
ASHLEY WARD
CEO | Talent Advisor
Hire For HopeAshley Ward is the Founder and CEO of Hire For Hope. She leads community involvement, business development, and acts as the liaison between the talent optimization and recruiting departments. Ashley founded Hire For Hope in 2017 with a mission to start a philanthropic business that gives ten percent of its profit to nonprofits that empower women experiencing domestic violence.
Prior to founding Hire For Hope, Ashley was an Executive Recruiter for a boutique headhunting firm. She also worked for a freight brokerage business based in Cincinnati and recruited the founding team for the new Grand Rapids office. Previous to her work there, she spearheaded the recruiting efforts for a national insurance company based in Grand Rapids. Ashley received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Cornerstone University and advanced through graduate coursework in counseling.
Ashley serves on several executive boards in the West Michigan community. She currently serves on The City of Grand Rapids’ Downtown Improvement District Board and Grand Rapids Sister Cities International Zapopan Committee. She previously served on the Board for Safe Haven Ministries where she chaired their Corporate Impact Committee, as well as the City of Grand Rapids’ Mayor’s Next Gen Advisory Board.
Ashley is the proud recipient of recent awards such as Grand Rapids Young Professionals’ 2017 Community Advocate Award and 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year, Grand Rapids Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2019, and Grand Rapids Business Journal’s 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan in 2020. Her firm Hire For Hope has received such accolades as Local First’s 2018 Good for Grand Rapids Award, as well as 2018 and 2019 Startup of the Year at the American Business Awards in NYC.
The proud mother of a 9-year-old daughter, Ashley loves a balance between spending time at home and seeking adventure. She has a passion for travel, has been skydiving three times, and enjoys cooking, yoga, and upping her chess game. Ashley’s five-year goal includes expanding her businesses to warmer climates.
KELLY BOS
Business Manager
Hire For HopeKelly Bos is the Business Manager at Hire For Hope. She manages all the behind the scenes responsibilities including account receivables, account payables, vendor relations, inventory, HR and payroll.
Prior to joining the Hire For Hope team, Kelly worked for a local startup as their Operations Manager and was responsible for developing systems, helping with outside vendors around the country, coordinating logistics, collaborating data that came in and helped with marketing material. Previous to that role, Kelly worked in healthcare for more than 20 years. She worked as a Business Manager for a large private office in Grand Rapids and managed the HR for more than 70 employees.
Kelly volunteers at Relay for Life and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Grand Valley State University with a focus on business management and healthcare.
Kelly enjoys spending time with her 3-year-old son and her husband. She loves to travel and spend time with family and friends. Kelly’s fun fact? She is a bee-keeper and tends to a colony of honeybees in her backyard.
TASIA ALLISON
Recruiting & Business Development Specialist
Hire For HopeTasia is a Recruiting and Business Development Specialist at Hire for Hope. She creates new opportunities for Hire for Hope through sales meetings and relationship building. She also handles sourcing a broad range of high-quality professionals and interviewing them to determine the best fit for our clients across West Michigan and beyond.
Before joining the Hire for Hope team, she was a group leader at Payless. In this role, she found her passion for leadership development and recruiting. She then started her corporate career in training and development at Americo Life. In 2015, she started working as the organizational development specialist at Byrne Electrical where she helped develop strategies, implement a competency model and formal performance management and also developed a leadership program.
Tasia graduated from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Tasia and her husband have been sponsoring kids through Compassion International and Food for the Hungry for the last 10 years.
In her free time, Tasia enjoys boating and camping with her husband and their two Dalmatians. A fun fact about Tasia is that she enjoys DIY projects and recently built a pantry in her kitchen!
NICOLE DEGI
Recruiting & Business Development Specialist
Hire For HopeNicole is a Recruiting and Business Development Specialist at Hire for Hope. She creates new opportunities for Hire for Hope through sales meetings and relationship building. She also handles sourcing a broad range of high-quality professionals and interviewing them to determine the best fit for our clients across West Michigan and beyond.
Prior to joining the Hire for Hope team, she worked in media sales at Cumulus Media for the last nine years. At Cumulus Media, she sold radio advertising and digital marketing plans as well as event sponsorships.
Nicole graduated from Northwood University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management.
She is on the Wine and Wig committee in support of breast cancer awareness and volunteers for various Gilda’s Club LaughFest committees. She also enjoys volunteering at The American Cancer Society and Kids Food Basket.
Outside of work, you can find Nicole spending time with her dog, Slate, and attending a fitness class. She also enjoys cooking, reading, traveling and seeking out the best Michigan sunsets! Above all, she loves to spend quality time with her family and friends.
REGAN LANG
Marketing and Recruiting Intern
Hire For HopeRegan is Hire for Hope’s Recruiting and Marketing Intern. She helps with sourcing and recruiting candidates, manages our social media marketing and assists in marketing initiatives, design, brand consistency, analytics and website maintenance.
She is currently enrolled in Cornerstone University and will be receiving her bachelor’s degree in strategic communication and marketing in May 2021.
Regan was a competitive dancer and is now the volunteer head coach for the Rockford Middle School Dance Team. She also enjoys helping at City Church Rockford’s women’s events.
When she’s not coaching, volunteering, at school or at work, Regan loves to spend time up north or on a beach with her fiancé and the dog she just rescued. Her passions include traveling, health and wellness, spending time with friends and shopping.
Regan hopes to one day own her own business and channel her leadership skills into an organization that gives back and makes an impact on the world.
PRESS
West Michigan Woman | Rise Up LIVE: Episode 27- Hire for Hope
Women’s Lifestyle Magazine | Taking Back Her Light
WZZM13 News | Women’s Lifestyle Feature: Be Bold
Bella Vista Beacon | Getting To Know Ashley Ward & Hire For Hope
West Michigan Christian News | Hire For Hope Founder Grateful Safe Haven Ministries Helped Replace Distress
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Local First Honoring Good For Grand Rapids Winners
WZZM13 News | Good For Grand Rapids Awards Honor Local Businesses
mLive | 8 Business Spotlighted for doing ‘Good for Grand Rapids’
Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce | Good Company: The Podcast
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Recruiting Firm Brings Survivor Full Circle
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Women Who Mean Business
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Business Journal Names 40 Under 40 Nominees 2019
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Business Journal Selects 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan 2020
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Hire For Hope Adds Outsourcing Division
AWARDS
Grand Rapids Young Professionals | 2017 Community Advocate Award
Local First | 2018 Good For Grand Rapids Award
Stevie Awards | 2018 American Business Award – Silver – Startup of the Year
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce | 2018 Award Finalist: Woman-owned Enterprise of the Year
Grand Rapids Business Journal | 2019 Award Finalist: Top Woman-owned Business Awards
Stevie Awards | 2019 American Business Award – Bronze – Startup of the Year
Grand Rapids Young Professionals | Ashley Ward named 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Ashley Ward named 2019 Top 40 Under 40
Grand Rapids Business Journal | Ashley Ward named 2020 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan