Ashley La Russa
Founder
Roux Events, Blax Friday
By Valerie Vinyard
Ashley La Russa has become a vibrant force for the Black community in Southern Arizona and beyond.
When she moved to Tucson in 2008 to take a position as assistant stage manager for the Arizona Theatre Company, the Port Arthur, Tex. native knew it was the ideal place to realize her dream of “uplifting Black-owned businesses and creating space for community, celebration and connection.”
In 2019 she founded Roux Events, an event management company with a focus on supporting organizations and community leaders that foster diversity, equity and inclusion. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, La Russa also launched Blax Friday, the largest accessible directory of Black businesses in Arizona.
“In 2020, we didn’t have a cohesive, comprehensive directory for locating Black-owned businesses statewide. . .and the population here in Arizona is so demographically significant,” La Russa said.
When she started the directory, there were 400 Black-owned businesses in Tucson; today, there are thousands in the directory. In June, the Pima County Board of Supervisors honored La Russa and the Blax Friday community for “five years of visionary service, innovation and commitment to building a more inclusive and prosperous Arizona.”
Since 2008, La Russa has produced 500-plus events, including Soul Food Wednesdays, which bring together Black business owners in Downtown Tucson; and BOB Fest, a block party featuring food trucks, music and Black-owned businesses from around Arizona. On Aug. 23, La Russa’s second FLAVA event will offer food and conversation with Black chefs at the Carriage House in Downtown Tucson.
La Russa creations offer opportunities for joy, collaboration and connection, according to Beverely Elliott, executive director of the African American Museum of Southern Arizona.
“Ashley is self-made. She hit the ground running, not just as a woman, but as a Black woman in a community where the African American population makes up just over 4%,” said Elliott. “She has connected not just with the African American community, but with the community at large and she has done that through her entrepreneurial spirit and spirit of community.”
She describes La Russa, who has been honored by the University of Arizona Eller College of Management in its Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, as a lifelong learner who exemplifies leadership in philanthropic, business and advocacy organizations throughout the region.
“Ashley is always present. Being present, whether you are the leader or not, is important. She knows when to lead and when to step back and let someone else be a leader, and that makes her a great leader,“ Elliott said.
