LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Ashley Wallen was nominated anonymously.

Ms. Wallen creates a positive classroom environment by leading with love, intentionality, and high expectations. Her students know from day one that her classroom is more than four walls. It is a space where students' voices matter, their identities are celebrated, and their dreams are nurtured.

Garfield Elementary School is situated in Ward 8, the most underprivileged district in Washington, DC, which means Ms. Wallen's students face challenges that extend far beyond academics. She sees her role as not only their teacher, but their advocate, mentor, and champion. Ms. Wallen intentionally builds trust and community by incorporating culturally responsive lessons, celebrating each student's unique story, and connecting what they learn to the world around them.

Her commitment to their growth extends far beyond the school day. Ms. Wallen organized the HBCUs EmpowerED Expo in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Departmental Office of Civil Rights, giving her students direct exposure to the power of higher education and diverse career opportunities. She also spearheaded Mental Health Awareness Week, bringing the DC State Board of Education into their school to engage in meaningful conversations about mental health and advocacy. These experiences show her students that they are seen, valued, and capable of making an impact right now.

Whether Ms. Wallen is teaching history, connecting her students with community leaders, or modeling leadership as an aspiring principal, she works tirelessly to ensure every child feels supported, inspired, and empowered to succeed in her classroom and in life. From her earliest years as a teen volunteer to her role as a STEAM specialist while still in high school at the Boys and Girls Club of America, Ms. Wallen has embodied the belief that education has the power to transform lives.

At sixteen, she noticed many children were multiple grade levels behind and took it upon herself to create lessons that bridged the gap. That initiative led her to become the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year at the Smilow Clubhouse, where she began advocating publicly for what would become her lifelong mission: the power of education and its transformative potential.

As a proud first-generation American, born in Kingston, Jamaica, and a fourth-generation graduate of Howard University, Ms. Wallen has built her career on resilience, ambition, and an unwavering commitment to equity. At Howard, she served as Miss School of Education and was named Student Leader of the Year. She independently produced more than sixty programs across the Washington, DC metropolitan area, focusing on education, mental health, professional development, and leadership. Each of these programs bridged the classroom with real-world opportunities, showing students that learning was not abstract but a direct pathway to careers, empowerment, and meaningful change.

Her work has spanned local, citywide, and federal levels. In 2024, she created and directed the HBCUs EmpowerED Expo: Heritage, Brilliance, Culture & Unity, a landmark event in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Departmental Office of Civil Rights. As the sole organizer, Ms. Wallen independently managed every detail, from securing funding and sponsors to recruiting vendors, handling logistics, coordinating staff, managing risk, and ensuring seamless execution.

The Expo empowered students to see higher education and diverse careers as attainable, featured keynote speaker Director Irene Marion, and inspired hundreds of participants to champion diversity and inclusion. This event drew citywide attention and directly led to Ms. Wallen receiving the Champion of Children Award from the City of Alexandria, where she garnered the most votes in the award's history.

Her drive extends into her classroom and community leadership. Within three years of graduating with her Bachelor's, she was recognized at the district, city, and state levels for producing some of the highest student test scores in science and math. In 2024, she transitioned into District of Columbia Public Schools, serving Ward 7 and 8, the most underprivileged districts in the city.

While teaching, she completed a two-year accelerated Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governors University in just six months, focusing her capstone on culturally relevant education in the classroom. That same year, she became the first educator in her school's history to be selected to serve on the DC Chancellor's Teacher Advisory Committee, where she advocated for teacher voice in district-wide policy decisions. She also created a schoolwide Mental Health Awareness Week, designing programs that brought in State Board of Education leaders, including President at Large Jacque Patterson and Ward 7 Representative Ebony Rose Thompson. By the end of her first year in DCPS, her students had earned the highest test scores across all grade levels and subjects in the building, and she achieved the district's coveted "Highly Effective" teacher rating.

Beyond her classroom and program work, Ms. Wallen has built a portfolio of prestigious fellowships and leadership roles. She completed internships with the KID Museum's Teach for the Future EdTech Fellowship and the Black Teacher Project, where she advanced research on social-emotional wellness for Black educators. In summer 2025, she completed the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Fellowship. She has been invited to present her work at the Smithsonian Education Summit in 2026.

Due to her skills in education, leadership, and program management, she was personally selected to serve as the Operations Director with the National Society of Black Engineers' SEEK (Summer Engineering Experience for Kids) program, ensuring STEM opportunities reached underserved students with precision and scale. Most recently, she became the youngest member of her cohort to join the competitive George Washington University Aspiring Educational Leaders Program in partnership with DCPS. She was also selected as a district Math Professional Development Facilitator, serving all 119 DCPS schools. She was the youngest member of the cohort, chosen to participate in Trinity Washington University's Math for Educators Program.

At only 26 years old, Ms. Wallen has already curated over 60 programs, spanning from New York City to Washington, DC, and reaching thousands of students and families. She is not only an educator, but a visionary program architect who independently conceives, funds, and executes large-scale initiatives that leave a lasting impact. Whether teaching in Ward 8, advocating for policy at the district level, or inspiring students through national platforms, Ms. Wallen consistently goes above and beyond, embodying the transformative power of education and proving that no dream is too big to chase.

In Ms. Wallen's classroom, she works to meet students' academic and human needs. That often means keeping a small stock of snacks for students who come to school hungry, discreetly offering hygiene products or a change of clothes to those in need, or making sure they have their own set of school supplies so they can participate without feeling embarrassed or left out. Ms. Wallen personally provides these items whenever she can. Her goal is to ensure that no student has to choose between feeling cared for and being ready to learn.