Ashley Perkins, Pharm.D., is a mental health advocate with a background as a pharmacist and educator. She graduated from Butler University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2008 and is currently in the Ed.D. program at Marshall University, with a focus on curriculum and instruction. She is an adjunct instructor at Florida State College at Jacksonville, where she teaches in the Pharmacy Technician Certificate program.Ashley was the 2021 WEGO Health Awards Rookie of the Year Recipient and will serve as an advisory board member for Health Union from 2021-2022.She is an international speaker, recently speaking on a panel for the MINDS 2021 conference. A TEDx speaker, delivering her Mental Disease: Empower Others by Sharing Your Story a TEDx MarshallU in April of 2021. She's also been the guest on multiple podcasts, talking about mental health and the power of language to help end the stigma around this topic.At the beginning of 2020, she co-founded We Matter Too, Inc. which focuses on helping those with mental health issues and mental disorders through first-person narratives of experience. We Matter Too, Inc. is an organization with the idea that those experiences can be the best support for others who are struggling with their own mental health and are seeking information. By removing the biggest barrier of seeking help or treatment, stigma or fear of judgment, we can possibly help more people find help or seek treatment if they so desire.