By John Burton
A Wake Forest alumnus and Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust board member, Torrey Feimster’s work embodies a commitment to helping to fostering inclusive growth and community empowerment. In his new role as CEO of Ascension Community Development Corporation, he is helping to close the wealth gap and open doors to homeownership for all.
Q: Your professional journey spans media, higher education, finance and community development. How has your past experience prepared you for your current role as a leader at Ascension?
A: Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working across both the private and nonprofit sectors. I spent 13 years at GEM Investments, a Charlotte-based, $13 billion investment firm that serves mission-driven organizations like foundations, colleges and universities. I’ve served in various roles, most recently as director of diversity equity, and inclusion. Before that, I worked at Johnson C. Smith University in the Development Office, serving as Director of Corporate Relations, focusing on fundraising and building partnerships within the corporate community.
These experiences have given me a unique perspective on how capital, community, and collaboration can intersect to drive sustainable, lasting change — particularly when it comes to aligning financial resources with mission-driven outcomes. What seemed like separate puzzle pieces at the time [turned out to be] all part of the bigger picture — one that led me right to Ascension Community Development Corporation.
Q. From your perspective, what are some of the most significant misconceptions people have about the wealth gap? How do these misunderstandings impede progress?
A: That the wealth gap can be closed.
People talk about “closing the wealth gap” as if it’s a finish line we can cross. But in reality, the gap is not a static target — it’s constantly shifting due to systemic factors, historical inequities, and compounding advantages or disadvantages over generations.
A more realistic and actionable goal is to stop the gap from widening and focus on narrowing it through sustained, multi-faceted approaches — not just financial interventions, but structural changes that address deeper barriers. If people believe the gap is fully closable, they overlook systemic barriers that keep it expanding. Instead of pushing for quick fixes, we need long-term strategies — education, homeownership, policy shifts and wealth-building initiatives — that make meaningful, generational progress.
Also, we can’t talk about the wealth gap without also addressing the “opportunity gap.” Wealth doesn’t exist in a vacuum — it’s built over time through access to opportunities like quality education, stable employment, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and homeownership. When certain communities are systemically excluded from these opportunities, wealth accumulation becomes nearly impossible.
9. With your comprehensive background, how does your work at Ascension specifically contribute to narrowing the wealth gap in our community?
At Ascension CDC, we believe homeownership isn’t just a milestone — it’s a vehicle for accelerated generational wealth. Our innovative model goes beyond simply building homes — we’re creating mixed-income communities that provide not just a place to live, but a foundation for long-term financial stability and upward mobility. Our mission is to build attainable for-sale housing in mixed-income developments, ensuring that families aren’t priced out of homeownership and provide financial literacy and homebuyer education to equip buyers with the tools to sustain homeownership and build wealth.
By breaking down barriers to homeownership, Ascension is helping families move from renting to owning, ensuring that real estate appreciation works for them, not against them.
Q: Can you talk a bit about the origins of Ascension Community Development Corporation? Who started it and how is it different from other community development corporations?
Ascension was founded in 2022 by James Scruggs, a local real estate developer and CEO of Kingdom Development Partners. As James often says, real estate has been good to him, but he felt the Lord nudging him to give back in a way that would truly move the needle for underserved communities. He was especially passionate about helping Black and Brown families and the “missing middle” find attainable housing and build wealth.
That’s really the heart of Ascension. We officially received our 501(c)(3) status in March 2024, and since then, we’ve been off to the races.
What makes Ascension different from other community development corporations is our two-fold mission: yes, we’re focused on increasing access to attainable, for-sale housing in mixed-income communities, but just as important is our goal to close the racial wealth gap by creating pathways to accelerated wealth generation through home equity. That second part is what sets us apart.