About Ashley

I didn’t read much as a kid. Instead, I climbed trees, raced go-karts, and planned missions to the moon. I followed the dream of becoming an astronaut all the way through college in UC Berkeley’s mechanical engineering program and an internship at NASA Ames. But then I saw—as I squinted up at my qualifications—that I’d become too near-sighted to pilot a ship to far-flung places. So, I flew (coach) to grad school at the University of Edinburgh and began a career in robotics, determined to launch something, if not myself.

But I soon started a different journey—without ever leaving the artificial intelligence lab. Through robotics and computer simulation, I explored aspects of this world: the sonar sensing strategies of bats, the role of humpback whale song, and the ingenious navigation systems of tiny honeybees. So began my fascination with sound and perception. After finishing my doctoral work, I pursued these interests, first through writing code and later through crafting narratives.

Today, I’m also a proud graduate of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts, , where I was a three-time award winner. I’m active in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and represented by Kelly Dyksterhouse at The Tobias Literary Agency. I write fiction and nonfiction for young people and help new authors tell their own stories in Bay Area youth programs.