Dr. Ashley Henderson McLaughlin joins the ACLU of Mississippi Staff as Director of Policy and Advocacy. She was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi and attended Jackson Public Schools. She went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Pre-Law from Tougaloo College. She went on to study Public Policy and Administration obtaining a Master of Arts in Political Science from Jackson State University.
Over the course of her working career in city and state government, her love for city planning and community development flourished. She went on to pursue and receive her Doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis in Community Development from Jackson State University. She has served in various roles that have fine tuned her ability to lead and achieve success in the areas of policy and advocacy. She is experienced at advising executive level teams in daily operations, communications, crisis response, community outreach, legislative, and media strategy.
In addition to her experience advising Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, Higher Education, advocating for funding, and policy initiatives, she has worked with and welcomed some of the nation’s top officials and organizations to Jackson. Dr. McLaughlin’s specialty areas give her a dynamic ability, but she prides herself on remaining teachable. The passion of her work is driven by the determination to find plausible solutions for long-term sustainability and change though public policy.
