Ashley contributes to Blue Meridian’s investee selection process, supports individual investee relationships, including developing scaling plans, and helps assess investee and portfolio-wide performance. Working closely with Managing Directors, she also collaborates on innovative initiatives to expand Blue Meridian’s work, with a focus on The Justice and Mobility Fund.
Prior to joining Blue Meridian, Ashley was the executive director of Nation Outside, a Michigan-based grassroots advocacy and policy organization led entirely by formerly incarcerated people. Under her leadership, Nation Outside grew to twelve chapters statewide, championing post-secondary education for incarcerated people, supporting Clean Slate implementation, and advocating against housing policies that exclude justice-impacted individuals. Ashley was a 2021 JustLeadership USA “Leading with Conviction” fellow and a 2023 “Leading with Conviction” Award winner, as well as a 2023 Aspen Institute Ascend fellow and 2024 Galaxy Gives fellow. Additionally, Ashley serves as a Genessee County Deputy Sheriff and is the founder of Impact(FUL) Consulting, which uses evidence-based methods to catalyze change in policies and systems around crime and justice.
Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from South University, graduating with honors within just three years of her release from Michigan’s Department of Corrections in 2010. She went on to earn her master’s degree and, later, doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California. While there, Ashley served as the founding chair of Unchained Scholars, USC’s student caucus for justice-impacted graduate students of social work.