For nearly two decades, R. Ashley Jackson's work has focused on issues of Equal Pay, Racial Justice, Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice and issues facing the LGBTQ+ community in the South. Philanthropy, Fundraising, and Development are her passion. As an activist, advocate, fiber artist, and program management consultant, Ashley has worked with community members, business owners, elected officials, and stakeholders, uplifting and focusing on subjects such as racial justice and youth-led organizing. Ashley served as the Senior Associate of Reproductive Rights for State Innovation Exchange, the first Alabama State Director for the Human Rights Campaign, and the first LGBT Community Advocate for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Ashley has Business and Marketing degrees from Hinds College and attended Auburn University Montgomery for Sociology and Political Science. She holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from Cornell University. Ashley co-founded the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition in 2008 and served as the director for three years. She was named a New Civil Rights Leader: Emerging Voice in the 21st Century by the L.A. Times. A Mississippi native, Ashley currently resides in Atlanta, GA, with her wife, daughter, and pup.