Ashley hails from Baltimore, where she was both a competitive swimmer and a Track & Field athlete throughout high school. She began teaching swim lessons at the age of 17 as a summer intern at a swimming camp. As a swimmer, her specialties were backstroke and freestyle. In college, at South Carolina State University Ashley fell in love with teaching. She came to NYC to have a change of life and try big city living. As a Pisces, she notes she is seldom far from the water, whether on vacation or getting in her laps during open swim times at Imagine pools.