Raised in the Arena
Some people discover public service later in life. Arielle was born into it. At just fifteen weeks old, her father brought her to Kansas City City Hall -not for a photo op, but because that's where the work was happening. She spent her earliest years in council chambers, committee meetings, and community gatherings. The sounds of democracy were her lullabies.
When Arielle was seven years old, she stood beside her father as he packed up his council office after term limits ended his eight-year tenure. She watched him say goodbye to staff, to constituents, to a role that had shaped their family. She didn't fully understand it then, but she was witnessing something important: public service isn't just a job-it's a calling. And it leaves a mark on everyone it touches.
Those years traveling with her dad to Europe and Australia, seeing how different communities solve problems, expanded her worldview. She learned early that housing challenges, technology gaps, and community needs aren't unique to Kansas City-they're universal. And so are the solutions, if you know where to look.
Pembroke Hill High School, Class of 2018
A Foundation of Excellence
Arielle graduated from Pembroke Hill High School in 2018, one of Kansas City's most prestigious private college preparatory schools. But she wasn't just focused on academics-she was a multi-sport athlete competing in basketball, volleyball, and track, a member of the dance team, and active in the Chinese Club.
Her time studying abroad in Japan opened her eyes to how different cultures approach community and housing. It was the beginning of a global perspective that would shape everything that followed.
Interning on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
Learning Where Policy Is Made
Instead of heading straight to college, Arielle took a gap year that would prove transformational. She went to Washington D.C. and interned on Capitol Hill for Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, then Chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance.
Working at the heart of national housing policy gave her a front-row seat to how laws are made-and how they affect real families. It was there she learned that policy without implementation is just paper, and that real change happens when you bridge the gap between Washington and Main Street.
Private Equity with a Purpose
In 2023, Arielle returned to Washington D.C. as a research private equity analyst for Artemis Real Estate Partners-a $9 billion investment firm with offices in D.C., New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. There she gained a deep understanding of how private capital flows into real estate, and more importantly, how it can be directed toward underserved communities.
She also earned her Novogradac Community Development Certificate (NCDC), a specialized credential covering Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits (HTC). These aren't just acronyms-they're the financing tools that make affordable housing possible.
Arielle Nash today
Leading the Next Generation
Today, as President of The Nash Group and Co-Founder of AGI Affinity, Arielle oversees affordable housing developments worth over $100 million and is pioneering new approaches to AI accessibility for underserved communities.
She's the primary point of contact for all Nash Group policy work, bringing her Capitol Hill experience directly to bear on issues of homelessness, mental health, and housing insecurity. Her research at Washington University in St. Louis focuses on the sociological aspects of affordable housing-discrimination, inequality, and what happens when families don't have a stable place to call home.
Doing work that is impactful and worthwhile is what drives my entrepreneurial proclivities. This is fundamentally what being an entrepreneur means to me-helping others.