Since 2009, Ashley has devoted her time towards empowering women and youth locally and globally. During her undergraduate studies at VCU (B.S. International Social Justice Studies, minors in Nonprofit Management & Administration, General Business, and Italian), she had the privilege of founding a large nonprofit social justice student organization, as well as founding and captaining the VCU Women's Club Soccer Team. Viewing soccer as an avenue to educational and inter-cultural community building, Ashley partnered with the International Rescue Committee and ReEstablish Richmond to design, implement and direct a holistic refugee youth soccer and education program in the East End of Richmond. During her graduate studies, Ashley was the Graduate Research Assistant for Dr. Sarah Raskin on her cross-disciplinary initiative to advance oral health equity in Virginia. In May 2018, she graduated from the L. Douglas Wilder School Master of Public Administration program with a certificate in Public Management. Continuing along her path towards empowering at-risk youth, Ashley served as a Youth Development Center Director at the YMCA of Greater Richmond, a program requested and funded by the Office of Mayor Lavar Stoney. In Fall 2019, Ashley became a Ph.D. candidate in VCU's L. Douglas Wilder School's Public Policy doctoral program. During the summers of 2020 and 2021, she worked as a Research Assistant at the Women's Institute for Science, Equity and Race (WISER), authoring multiple articles on immigration. For the 2021-2022 school year, she will serve as the GTA for Dr. Nancy Stutts and Dr. Sarah Brubaker.