Her Story
About Ashley
I started my career as a front desk clerk at a state resort park in Kentucky, then moved to Columbus, Ohio, where I worked the front desk at the Renaissance Columbus downtown. That's where I got my first foot into leading when they approached me for a laundry lead position, and I said yes. That's one of the things I've learned - always saying yes to something, even if you've never done it. After a few months as laundry lead, they asked me about being a housekeeping supervisor, so I took that position. Then I had twins, and COVID hit at the same time, so I was out of work for a few months. When I came back, I got my first management position at OSU Wexner Medical Center as an EVS manager. They hired me to help close a contract as they went from a contract cleaning company to in-house, so I was only there for 6 months. Then I was offered a position in Michigan as the EVS manager, and after a year there, they offered me a second hospital as a promotion with more responsibility. I came back and got into the commercial side of cleaning with JSI, working for them for over a year as a Senior Operations Manager when they were Legacy Commercial Cleaning. I did go to Ohio Health for about a year because they enticed me with those hospital benefits, but I missed what I was doing so much that I ended up coming back. Now I'm an Area Operations Manager at JSI Janitorial, where I have a couple million revenue accounts and probably about 15 buildings around Columbus that I directly oversee all of the janitorial operations for.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ashley
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think a lot of it has been being at the right place at the right time, but also not saying no to opportunities, even if they're scary. There's a lot of times that I can look back and be like, if I had turned down this opportunity or the other, because I wasn't sure, where would I be now? I definitely wouldn't be where I'm at. I've learned that even if I've not done something before, I really don't say no to trying something new. You can always be like, you know, that wasn't for me, but you don't know until you actually jump in and do it.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't be afraid to jump in, even if you're not sure what you're doing. I think that's been my biggest help getting me out there - even if I've not done it before, I really don't say no to trying something new. You can always be like, you know, that wasn't for me, but you don't know until you actually jump in and do it. That's one of the things I've learned - always saying yes to something, even if you've never done it.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
What first inspired me to get into my field is that I felt like housekeeping was such a neglected or unseen area. The people in housekeeping really work super hard to provide a really clean environment for guests and customers, but they don't have a lot of people that are there cheering them on and telling them that they're doing a good job, and I want to be there to support them. I also want to show women from my background - I grew up in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky, and I've had to fight in survival mode most of my life to get anywhere. I'm finally at a point where I'm not surviving anymore, and I'm trying to teach my nervous system that it's okay to just live instead of survive. I want people that grew up poor, like I did, not knowing when you're gonna get to your next meal, or having to walk an hour to work, to know that eventually, if you put in the work and the effort and really try, you can get somewhere eventually, even if it doesn't look very bright where you're at right now.
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