| Ashley Ellis
BESE District 5 Representative
Ashley Ellis is a native of northeast Louisiana. Ellis has been an educator for over 19 years and is experienced at all levels of education from elementary, middle, high school, district, and state levels. In 2019, Ashley was elected to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education serving 19 parishes in northeast Louisiana. In August 2022, Ashley followed her passion and moved into higher education as the Director of the Elementary Education Program for Louisiana Delta Community College and will be working to build a pipeline of future educators. Ashley learned the value of dedication at an early age and was the first person in her family to earn a bachelor's degree and eventually her master's degree in educational leadership. Ashley's career has been a model of service recognized with awards both in education and in her community as she was one of eight of finalists for Louisiana State Teacher of the Year in 2012, named Top 20 Under 40 by the Monroe Chamber of Commerce in 2019, and recently received the Saul Mintz Early Childhood Champion Award from the Children’s Coalition of Northeast Louisiana. Ashley shares her unique perspectives gained from her experience as an educator as a BESE Board Member. She is a champion for equity in education. She firmly believes that Louisiana's students are just as capable as students in any other state, and she has spent much of her career working with at-risk students proving that very point. Ashley is a mom to three beautiful children: Friday III (16), Asher (13), and Aurie (9). She is also married to Mayor Friday Ellis and serves as the First Lady of Monroe. |