Ashley grew up exploring the shores and waterways of the Saanich Inlet and Southern Gulf Islands of the Salish Sea. Whether spellbound by trying to free a geoduck from its sandy hold, or spending salty days sailing and swimming, her enchantment with natural history and adventure of the coast was imprinted from a very early age.

Simultaneously, Ashley grew to become concerned with conservation and deep ecology and upon completion of a Bachelor of Science in Coastal Geography, sought work that satisfied both a desire for exploration and participation in the conservation economy.

Over the years, Ashley has worked or volunteered for many different coastal NGEOs as well as contract work as a bear and seabird field biologist, offshore fisheries data collector, migratory salmon field technician, offshore sailing crew, and dive tender for underwater conservation photographers.  She has also worked as seasonal marine guide since 2010 in coastal British Columbia and briefly in Antarctica.

Ashley has increasingly focussed on marine guiding on historic wooden vessels and currently holds a Transport Canada 60GT limited license as well as a Small Vessel Machinery Operator Unlimited. She has found that one of the more meaningful of her tasks is trying to help people connect with the more remote places of the coast.

In recent years Ashley has taken on the best adventure of all and started a young family based in Saltair, near Ladysmith harbour, where they keep their personal adventure vessel, a Gulf 32 “S/V Pelican”. Her favourite fish is the stunning Coastal Cutthroat Trout – the seagoing variety of course.