Ashley J. Finigan-James is a third generation Brooklynite, educator, history and diversity, equity and belonging practitioner and mom. She is a doctoral candidate in History at the University of Chicago, where she is completing her dissertation—an organizational history of the National Council of Negro Women. Along with her scholarly work she is currently the Assistant of Equity and Community Engagement at Brearley where she supports the DEIA programming and mission across the entire school. Prior to this, Ashley taught History and American Studies at the Berkeley Carroll school in Brooklyn. She also earned a BA cum laude in History and Black Studies from Amherst College, an MA in African American Studies from Columbia University and an M.A in History from the University of Chicago.
At Berkeley Carroll, she established the school’s first African American history classes and has served as the subject matter specialist on topics relating to the Black diaspora and women’s and gender history. Other professional experience include working as an archivist at the Newberry and the Vivian G. Harsh libraries in Chicago, a lecturer in the College at the University of Chicago and a history teacher in the New York City public schools. She has given workshops on the vibrancies of African American culture and life, at Cal Poly Pomona, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Association of Independent School’s People of Color Conference, the Chicago Public Library, Sony-BMG and at the Association of American Historians conferences. She is also a Board Member of the Amherst College Society of Black Alumni.