After graduating from UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources with a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Food Systems, Ashley managed a one-acre non-profit urban market-farm in downtown San Jose, California. She went on to create and lead a garden and nutrition/cooking education program at two underserved elementary schools and one transitional housing shelter.

Ashley joined Whole Foods Market in 2016. For nearly eight years, she collaborated with farms, suppliers, and third-party certifiers to help fulfill the company’s commitment to responsible sourcing by supporting transparency, fair trade, and workers’ welfare.

In May of 2024, she joined Whole Kids where she develops and manages innovative edible education programs for Whole Kids, including the Garden Grant program, the Bee Grant program, and emerging efforts around Youth Entrepreneurship. As Ashley supports the project’s network of more than 12,000 schools, she frequently reflects back to her past role as an educator to better understand and accommodate the challenges that teachers face as they establish and expand educational gardens.

She believes in meeting kids where they are in their healthy eating journey and is dedicated to making it fun for them. To Ashley’s (and surely her students’) delight this has led to memorable days like when her garden class laughed for about 30 minutes about whether or not carrots fart.