Ashley Kearney

Ashley Kearney

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy
Fellowship Placement: United States House of Representatives
Hometown: Capitol Heights, MD

Ashley Kearney is an award-winning secondary mathematics educator and community organizer in Washington, DC. She has represented teachers on both the local and national level to discuss cutting edge education topics, especially her passion in teaching quality, referenced by Learning First Alliance during Public School Week 2020. As a first-generation college student, Ashley is motivated by the belief that all students deserve a quality education, the power of empowered educators, and importance of mathematics education in intergenerational mobility, improving our understanding of ourselves and the world, and the safety and success of our nation.

Her former role as Ambassador with Carnegie Academy for Science Education’s STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Teacher Leader Cadre in the nationally recognized DC STEM Network provided her with the opportunity to support the creation of STEM ecosystems of supports for students. Ashley used her STEM partnerships to expose teachers and hundreds of students to STEM related careers, in-the-field training, and access to scholarship opportunities.

Much of Ashley’s leadership outside of the classroom has focused on elevating teacher voice by connecting policy to practice, engaging teachers, students, parents, and community members in advocacy, and working cross sector and in coalition to ensure better outcomes for students. Under her leadership, a community organizing organization she co-chaired for four years solidified wins in several campaigns, from school to prison pipeline and per pupil student funding to school transportation. She has used her knowledge and expertise to support district level math curriculum development and instruction, and train hundreds of teachers at the local and regional level. She has served as a state representative for both the multi-state standard setting and item review for Praxis Mathematics Assessment and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

Ashley has recently combined her math and organizing experience to help spearhead the process of reinstatement of the DC Council of Teacher of Mathematics, of which she currently serves as President, resulting in the establishment of a state level math advisory council in partnership with the Office of State Superintendent of Education. She is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, was recently named 2020 DC Public Schools Teacher of the Year, and currently serves as a local education council executive board member. Her recent induction into Delta Kappa Gamma, an international society for key women educators, allows her to work towards education excellence and impact education worldwide. Ashley graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s from the University of Tampa and has a master’s from Johns Hopkins University.