As the daughter of a professional boxer, All-American track athlete, theatre major, fitness professional, educator, and social justice advocate, Ashley has had the unique opportunity to experience a myriad of physical and mental training philosophies along with real world challenges that served as critical catalysts for introspection and growth. Throughout her life, she has consistently shown the ability to dissect self-limiting beliefs and trauma to summon grit, fortitude, and creativity.
It would be easy to say that Ashley was born to lead, but in actuality, her leadership has blossomed through constant evolution; extracting lessons from life’s challenges, victories and ambiguity, while staying relentlessly focused on one thing – how does she help those around her become the best versions of themselves?
While studying for her MFA in Acting at Brown University, Ashley suffered a concussion which changed the course of her life and helped her assess and apply her true why: to use movement as a way to make the world a better place. Over the course of the next three years, Ashley was an elite trainer at some of the world’s large boutique fitness studios. There, she earned a reputation as someone who could serve up some of the most intense, high-energy classes in the fitness space, but also understand and influence the collective behaviors of those around her with empathy, instinct and unapologetic candor.
In 2018, Ashley founded a company called The Courage Campaign. A nonprofit whose mission is to leverage movement and the power of intention to redefine one’s relationship with fear to attain new levels of personal empowerment. In this capacity, Ashley has worked with numerous schools and corporations in the Boston area, leading her students on a journey that combines physical exercise, journaling, and thought-provoking discussions to build courage and agency.
Ashley has also become a powerful voice speaking out against racial inequality in the fitness space. Her work here has garnered fast follow-ship and influence, making her an agent of untold levels of inspiration and strength.
Given her powerful impact and ongoing work throughout the community, Ashley has been aggressively sought by numerous podcasts, local papers and news stations to provide perspective and insight into topics ranging from pure fitness to education to social justice. She was chosen by Boston Magazine as one of 5 Black Women making the fitness scene more inclusive and one of 9 Black Fitness Professionals to Follow.
When asked about her teaching philosophy, she says it can be summed up in two quotes; the first is her own: “You can rest, but you can’t quit.” The other, a favorite from graduate school by Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
When Ashley isn’t teaching, you can find her at home with her partner Mark and their three pets, at the beach, or hiking somewhere with a waterfall.