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I help teachers with burnout and teens with mental illness carve meaningful paths forward.

I began teaching in 2007. I fell in love with the profession and put my soul into it. By 2013, I had reached what some might view as the pinnacle of my career when the History Channel awarded me the North Carolina Teacher of the Year.

But it was the darkest season of my life. I was working over 60 hours per week, clinically anxious and depressed, only sleeping a few hours a night, addicted to prescription medications, had less than one hundred dollars in my bank account, and was on the verge of losing my family.

After the last day of that next school year, I committed to a short rehab program and long-term counseling, joined a boxing gym, fought my way back to health, and—thanks in large part to a higher power and strong team of family, friends, peers, and professionals who refused to give up on me—fully recovered.

When I walked into rehab, I felt like I was dying, but I was being reborn—I was discovering who the whole me could be, not just “Mr. Ashley,” but also “Husband,” “Dad,” and “Justin.”

I’m grateful to be where I am and finally living my authentic life in every dimension, and I’m here to help struggling teachers and teens do the same.