Dean of the College of Business Rachel Croson presents Richard Ashton with the Business Alumni Award for Outstanding Early Career Achievement. 
 
This honor is awarded annually to an alumni of the College of Business who holds or held a professional position with a demonstrated record of achievement through promotions, commendations, awards or other acknowledgements, demonstrates high potential to be an exceptional business leader or innovator, and is active in his or her community. The selection committee is comprised of past award winners, advisory council members, and the college’s associate deans.

Brother Ashton is president of Arthur, Ashton & Associates, PLLC, a boutique real estate and financial services company. In addition, he is the president and founder of Leadership Development Council, Inc., a non-profit affordable housing developer, general partner and supportive service provider to low income families.

He provides affordable housing development and consulting services to community development corporations, nonprofits, developers, general partners and sponsors. In addition, he provides accounting and financial consulting services to growing companies in need of restructuring and capital project planning. He has participated in the development of commercial properties, master planned communities, multifamily, single family, industrial properties, recycling centers and community technology centers across the nation.

Formerly, he served as the principal accounting officer and director of energy for One Prime LP, a diversified real estate firm that developed affordable housing communities in Texas. He arranged more than $150 million in tax-exempt bond issuance and utilized more than $20 million in low-income housing tax credits. Prior to real estate development, he worked for XTO Energy, most notably with the post-closing team that closed the $1.1 billion Chevron-Texaco acquisition.

Ashton received his bachelor’s degree in accounting, with honors, from The University of Texas at Arlington in 2005, where he was a scholar in the inaugural cohort of the Goolsby Leadership Academy. He is a member of Leadership North Texas and founder of the Leadership Development Council, a non-profit affordable housing and educational charity that gives back to the housing communities he has created.