Ashley Lawson serves as the Vice President and co-owner of Achieve Incentives & Meetings, a global meetings and travel incentive planning agency based in Ohio, USA. Prior to joining the leadership team at Achieve, Ashley spent a decade in Washington, DC focused on ending veteran homelessness in the Nation's Capital. There, she led fundraising events and strategic partnerships with fortune 100 companies.Throughout her 20 years of event experience, Ashley has worked alongside local and global non-profits and governments, associations and corporations. She brings a rare and holistic perspective to the incentive industry and loves nothing more than creating unlikely collaborations that lead to positive, lasting change.When the pandemic began, Ashley couldn’t watch, wait and wonder when the world was going to be ready for safe travel and events again. So she took her curiosity and passion for events, exploration and community building on the road. She sold everything, grabbed a backpack and set out to uncover how destinations were preparing their safety protocols.The mission soon became a lifestyle of living in and working from hidden gem destinations around the globe. Across the past 4 years working remotely in over 30 countries, Ashley has engaged in more than 200 site visits in South and Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, New Zealand and even Antarctica.In every place she lives, Ashley loves embracing the local culture by testing out the food, learning “thank you” and "cheers" in every language and befriending taxi drivers throughout the world. By immersing herself in every place she calls home, she is able to learn about the unique history, traditions, cuisine and culture of the region.In 2022, she partnered with the publication Meetings Today to launch Dear Ashley, a monthly advice column sharing tips on how to authentically incorporate the local culture throughout destination events. Throughout her travels, Ashley has served as President of the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Incentive Travel Executives and she continues to stay active in both global incentive associations and the local communities she lives in.