Ashley Walker

An Appomattox, Virginia native and homegrown country girl, Ashley started Spanish classes in the eighth grade and immediately fell in love with the language and all that it encompassed. Ashley graduated with a Bachelor's degree from George Mason University in 1997. From 1999-2001 she served in the United States Peace Corps as an Urban Youth Development volunteer in Nicaragua, Central America. She still considers it the hardest, most impactful, and most rewarding experience of her life.

Upon returning to the United States, Ashley was offered her first high school teaching position in 2004 and simultaneously worked towards the completion of her teaching certification. After residing in Valencia, Spain for a time, she completed all coursework for her Master of Education degree from Longwood University. She has also had the opportunity to serve as adjunct faculty in the World Language Department at what was Lynchburg College at the time.

Ashley and her husband Michael were married in 2010 overlooking the family farm, and their long-awaited daughter was born in 2018. The Walker family loves anything outdoors: farm life, camping, and all things water (time at the beach and kayaking on the river).

Ashley begins her twentieth year of teaching with her first year at JRDS teaching lower and middle school Spanish (K-6). For Ashley, each day in the classroom is an opportunity to adventure alongside her students as they dig deeper into the beautiful and colorful Spanish culture and language. Ashley feels happy to be at James River and said, “What a blessing to be welcomed to the JRDS family.”