Ashley Albert grew up in Seattle, Washington. As a youth she was involved in the foster care, mental health, and juvenile criminal systems. She is a formerly incarcerated woman and a parent affected by the family regulation system who shares her experiences to help others achieve freedom. In and out of different systems, Ashley felt inadequate and different as a youth, which led to her challenges as a young African-American woman in society to erect change. Ashley successfully reunified with her oldest son after his time in foster care and is the first parent to successfully enforce and modify an open adoption agreement in Washington State. Ashley Albert is an activist and advocate surrounding policy and systemic change at the local, state, and national level. She is experienced in Trauma and Crisis Prevention. She has coauthored two abstracts for the Colombia Journal of Race and Law. She recently completed a 8 month cohort under a Leadership/Organizing Academy for BIPOC Survivors, centered around the restorative Justice framework with Collective Justice. She has spent years educating and advocating on behalf of birth parents whom are former foster youth and now parents navigating the Family Regulation System. She speaks on Social Justice and equity as a suicide attempt survivor. Her energy and commitment to support women and girls experiencing sexual assault and domestic violence, and the commitment to join the movement to end harm goes without saying. She elegantly speaks to the impacts of untreated childhood trauma through the lense of a young black girl. She speaks to lack of resources offered to munority teen moms and the way systems have shown up as punitive and non supportive. She is currently contracted through the WSCADV on the reimagining child welfare project. Currently in the process of creating a handbook on how to speak from your trauma as a domestic violence survivor and the stressors of losing your children to CPS.Ashley is a member of the steering committee for the Repeal ASFA campaign. She serves as an advisor for the Office of Behavioral Health Advisory Counsel and the Peer Support Advisory Counsel through the Wa Health Care Authority. She is the project manager for a pilot project called Peer Bridgers contracted under DCYF/JR to support youth returning into society from serving a term of incarceration. She is a certified peer counselor with the state of Washington who works with Jaspr health services and wears many hats for them to serve the community.