About
Ashley, a member of the Diné Nation, is Tsi’naajínii (Black Streaked Wood people clan), born for Tábąąhá (Water’s Edge people clan), her maternal grandfather is Haltsooí Diné’é (Meadow’s Edge people clan), and her paternal grandfather is Bilagáanaa (Irish). She joined the Center in December 2019. Ashley is a Senior Research Program Supervisor for the behavioral health team based in Fort Defiance, AZ.
Ashley is one of the team members helping to lead the water access work on various water-related initiatives, one of the main studies being the Diné Household Water Survey (DHWS), a study that was a successful pilot and is now in the expansion phase. DHWS is designed to address the current household-level water access data gap on the Navajo Nation through the implementation of a water needs assessment with a representative sample of households. Most recently, one of her focuses is a project called Paws-itive Change: Towards Solving Dog-related Challenges on Navajo Nation Upper District 18. This project aims to address community needs to restore relationships between Diné communities and their four-legged relatives, dogs, through a multiphase approach.
She loves working collaboratively and closely with her teammates and attests that the Center for Indigenous Health is rich with mentors and talented, caring individuals who work together to contribute to improving the health of our Native communities. She is passionate about public health, equity, Indigenous communities, the environment, and leadership.
Ashley obtained her BA degree in Psychology from Diné College and aspires to obtain an MPH. She is a mother to three lovely children. Her hobbies include watching documentaries, tending to her many houseplants, listening to music, spending quality time with her family, getting outdoors to hike when possible because she finds nature therapeutic, and loves spending time with her two dogs, Maisy & Zephyr.