Ashley Hill Email & Phone Number

I am proud of the nonlinear and multi-industry nature of my career path. I began as a marine ecologist conducting research on coral reef restoration and long-term ecosystem survival strategies at a nonprofit. I deviated from the underwater research component, but I remained committed to seeking a comprehensive understanding of environmentalism. I completed my Master of Education focused on the value of critically engaging the past, present, and possible futures in environmental education and academia. This program altered my understanding of education, providing me with foundational literature and critical theories on equity and justice in education. I gained language to tell future colleagues and supervisors that my goal was incorporating historical, social, political, and economic context to better inform decision-making and client-facing services. Transitioning to environmental consulting, I found myself in a small business world unprepared for the radical theories I wanted to implement. I learned, over time, how to integrate critical theories from feminist, anti-racist, queer, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities into operations and programming. The process took exceptional intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. In this work, I could see team members looking for radical, anti-capitalist conversations with management and being met with hesitancy, finding the work shifted back onto them – often historically marginalized employees. This never sat well with me, and I did not want to be another well-intentioned white woman in the workplace. I understand how the identities I hold as a white, cisgender, heterosexual, middle-class woman (among others) impact people around me and I take seriously the responsibility of consistently examining my power and positionality in my relationships. This led me to diversity, equity, and inclusion work. In my current role as Assistant Director for Equity Labs in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver, I work in a community of high-caliber thinkers and doers. We provide diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting for nonprofits, government agencies, and for-profit companies. I actively participate in business development and client communications and am a thought partner and leader in the organization. My colleagues would likely describe me as a relentless (and sometimes blunt) question-asker, a skill that serves me in the workplace and academic environments. I recognize room for growth and am now pursuing an MBA to bring environmental science and DEI into business.

Listed skills include Ecology, Environmental Awareness, Sustainability, Environmental Science, and 29 others.