Prior to joining the MLP, Ashley was a CLEAR attorney with Northwest justice Project for seven years, focusing on public benefits, health law, and Affordable Care Act implementation in Washington State. She is a 2008 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law where she was chapter president of Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington (SYLAW), set up civil rights legal clinics in New York City soup kitchens with the organization Picture the Homeless, and received a 2006 American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness and Poverty John J. Curtin, Jr. Fellowship for excellence in homeless advocacy. Prior to law school, Ashley was an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer and worked on homelessness issues on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.