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About Me.
Ashley D. McBride, M.S.
AARP Arkansas State Director
Ashley is a strategist and change agent. For over 14 years, she has successfully led employees, sustained business operations, and managed state and federal grants and programs in the United States non-profit, higher education, and corporate sectors. On June 13, 2022, Ashley was selected to become the AARP Arkansas State Director and is one of, if not the youngest, State Directors in AARP’s 60-plus-year history. At AARP Arkansas, she advocates for people 50-plus and their families to empower people to choose how they live as they age. She is passionate about caregiving and digital literacy, allowing people to build wealth by saving for retirement, keeping utility rates fair, and increasing livable communities statewide. In 2023, Ashley was featured in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s High Profile article. During her leadership, AARP Arkansas has grown into a nationally recognized State Office known for being innovative, inclusive, and taking on tough issues.
Ashley previously served as the Director of Education at the American Indian Center of Arkansas. In this role, she created a digital platform and established the Accessing Choices in Education (ACE) program. She managed and executed a $5 million federally-funded budget, collaborated with 30 partners, and provided educational, mental health, college, and career resources to 200 American Indian students and families. The U.S. Department of Education recognized her efforts, and her program was ranked as one of the top five ACE programs in the nation.
While employed as the Regional Director of Mission and Education at Susan G. Komen - Arkansas Affiliate, Ashley managed $3.2 million for community grants and traveled across Arkansas and Texas to educate and increase awareness about breast cancer. She created a volunteer task force comprised of over 200 members, oversaw compliance and grants management for 18 healthcare grantees, and developed a strategic plan to ensure thousands of breast cancer patients remained in the continuum of care. Ashley has also served as an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and led STEM programs at Grambling State University, the University of Colorado – Denver, Arkansas Baptist College, and New Life College. As an academician, she developed innovative biological science curriculums and increased diversity in competitive graduate school programs.
Ashley is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. She is a graduate of J.A. Fair Magnet High School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish/Pre-medicine from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She also earned a Master of Science degree in Modern Human Anatomy with an emphasis in Developmental, Cellular, and Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus. Her scientific research focused on neurological diseases and their effects on the human body, specifically Alzheimer’s disease.
Ashley has worked tirelessly to remove barriers and increase access to healthcare, education, and funding in minimally resourced communities. She has organized grassroots campaigns to expand Medicaid and Medicare, collaborated with local and state officials to pass impactful legislation and craft local policies, and consistently championed issues aimed at improving the lives of Arkansans.
She was honored as a member of Little Rock Soirée’s 2025 class of Women to Watch and named a 2024 Future Icon by Arkansas Money & Politics. In 2021, Ashley received a Federal Bureau of Investigation award for her exceptional work in diversity and education in Arkansas. Her leadership experience includes service as a Wise with Words Geriatric Consulting board member, a Mosaic Templars Cultural Center board member, and currently as a Pulaski County Broadband board member. She is a graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock Class XXXIX and New Leaders Council 2024, and she is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
