Ashley Chesney is a Survivor Leader, author, and advocate in the Anti-Trafficking Movement. She is an inspiring speaker and an expert trainer, and the Executive Director at Set Free Monterey Bay. As one of the founding members of the non-profit Set Free Monterey Bay, she has assisted multiple survivors in receiving critical services, including housing, addiction services, and therapy within their residential program and outpatient care.

Additionally, Ashley serves as a member of the CSEC (Commercially Sexually Exploited Children) Advisory Board through the National Center of Youth Law and the Survivor Consultant for Monterey County. It is through her own journey, she has found healing that she wants to share with others. She believes that advocacy, connection, and hope are key in guiding other survivors on a path to reclaim their lives after exploitation. She graduated summa cum laude from Cal State University Monterey Bay with her B.A. in Collaborative Health and Human Services from an inter-disciplinary program that held emphasis on nonprofit management and social work.

Ashley is a sex trafficking survivor turned thriver. She has survived childhood sexual abuse, overcome drug addiction, and walked through the prison system with a resilience that can only come from God’s undeniable grace. Ashley is a writer and the author of her personal memoir From The Ashes.