In 2010, Ashley Harder founded Harder Development based in downtown Phoenix. She serves as its principal real estate developer with extensive experience in adaptive reuse, historic preservation and redevelopment projects.

Ashley’s objective with Harder Development is to provide distinctive commercial spaces that retain a building’s historic character and offer a creative work environment for new and growing businesses. Her projects have included restoring the historic Henry Campbell House that is on
the National Register of Historic Places and developing a mixed use office/retail property called 335 Commons through utilization of the City of Phoenix’s Adaptive Reuse Pilot Program in 2010.

Ashley represents Harder Development in its leasing and has established a track record of developing properties that are easy to lease and have loyal, long-term tenants. She also acts as property manager, designs and oversees tenant improvements and is project manager for construction projects often self-performing.

Knowing that a good developer is involved in the community, Ashley is active in local organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA) a premier business leadership organization that advocates for a stronger and equitable downtown Phoenix. She also serves on the Board of Directors with the Downtown Phoenix Community Development Corporation that works to advance the development and redevelopment of housing and mixed-use projects in downtown Phoenix. She has served on committees and panels with Local First Arizona and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Ashley has a deep affinity for the arts, historic preservation and values being of service to the community where she lives and works which has been demonstrated in her community forward approach to her development work. Often meeting with key stakeholders as a first step to planning projects and integrating unique needs and interests into the design that are discovered during the planning stages.  Believing that it is imperative that we bring more voices to the table
for the discussion on how to build for the future Ashley often acts as community advocate bridging together neighborhoods and interest groups with City of Phoenix leadership.

In 2021 Ashley joined Preserve Phoenix as their Interim Executive Director to lead the development of the non-profit organization that focuses on educating, advocating and promoting Historic Preservation in Phoenix Arizona. As the managing partner of The Covarrubias Collection, an arts and culture entity, she is blending her business and development
experience with public art. Currently she is project managing the public art planned for the APS Grant Street Substation project in South Phoenix which is planned to host a visual timeline of the history of South Phoenix.

An avid patron and supporter of the Arts, Ashley has hosted a number of art-focused events, including curating at the Arizona State Senate Building and the Arizona Capitol Museum from 2014 to 2017. From 2014 to 2017 Ashley was a partner and co-curator at Treeo, a gallery and Artspace located in the Roosevelt Row Arts District.