Dr. Aeriel A. Ashlee
Fostering Inner Healing & Collective Liberation
Transforming the Academy and Beyond
Hi, I'm Dr. Aeriel A. Ashlee.
I'm a proud Asian American Womxn of Color, transracial transnational adoptee, and fierce mamascholar committed to fostering inner healing and collective liberation. As a tenured professor, professional speaker, and healing-centered facilitator, my work lives at the intersection of scholarship, story, and soul. I draw on my lived experience—alongside my academic expertise—to foster spaces that are brave, embodied, and rooted in relational truth-telling. Whether facilitating a staff development workshop or delivering a conference keynote, I lead with the belief that transformation begins within—and that our commitment to innerwork catalyzes outward shifts in systems.
For more than 15 years, I’ve facilitated transformative conversations about race, identity, and belonging across higher education, nonprofit, and corporate spaces. My work invites participants to slow down, listen deeply, and engage with courage and compassion. Whether partnering with a university to cultivate inclusive learning environments or guiding a leadership team toward equity-minded practice, I bring a blend of scholarly insight, lived experience, and embodied presence to every engagement. Through this approach, I help individuals and organizations move from awareness to action—building cultures of belonging, resilience, and accountability. Together, we plant the seeds of innerwork that grow into collective liberation.
Services
Speaking
Speaking is one of the most sacred ways I practice healing and invite transformation. I approach every engagement as an opportunity to share truth, spark connection, and co-create momentum towards healing and liberation. Through storytelling–woven with scholarly insight and embodied reflection–I offer talks that are intentionaly interactive and deeply personal. Whether I’m speaking to student leaders, team members, or organizational leaders, I center the innerwork that fuels systemic change. My goal is to invite audiences into deeper reflection, courageous imagination, and the kind of collective care that makes transformation possible.
Facilitating
Facilitation is where I bring people into deeper relationship—with themselves, each other, and the systems we seek to transform. Whether guiding group processes, leading day-long workshops, or holding space in immersive retreats, I design experiences that honor vulnerability, cultivate connection, and surface the wisdom already present in the room. Rooted in awareness of our positionality and interconnectedness, my facilitation style invites expansive exploration of how who we are shapes how we move through the world. I scaffold brave space for critical introspection and courageous conversation—creating conditions for inner healing that plant seeds for collective liberation. My goal is always the same: to co-create learning environments where insight leads to action, and where self-work becomes a catalyst for transformation.
Coaching
Coaching with me is an invitation to come home—to reconnect with your truth and root into your power. I hold space for early-career Womxn of Color who are navigating the layered complexities of identity, leadership, and liberation within and beyond the academy. Our work together is sacred and spacious. We move at the pace of healing—not urgency—as we untangle internalized narratives, clarify purpose, and align your decisions with your deepest values. Whether you’re writing your way through imposter syndrome or dreaming toward something more expansive, coaching is where we tend to your inner wisdom—so you can lead and live from a place of wholeness.
Dr. Ashlee has helped hundreds of students, social impact leaders, and emerging scholars foster inner healing and collective liberation.
"Dr. Aeriel's deep knowledge, engaging presentation style, and practical strategies made her talk both accessible and actionable."
— Trumanue Lindsey Jr., Vice President of Equity & Inclusion, Minneapolis College
"Professor Ashlee is a brilliant, compassionate, and insightful speaker. Her elegant and authentic leadership continues to inspire."
— Hannah Kinzer, Public Health PhD Student, Washington University in St. Louis
"Aeriel created space for my leadership team to reflect on how we work together and to deepen trust amongst the team."
— Dr. Lisa Anderson-Levy, Executive Vice President & Provost, Macalester College
Let's Connect
Interested in working together? I'd love to hear from you.
© Aeriel A. Ashlee 2025