She started as an intern under owner Dr. Carleton Goodlett and worked her up to publisher.
"I got a chance to do what I love to do," Ashley-Ward says. "Be with the people that I love, cover the community that I've come from, the community that I love. I've had fun things like interviewing superstars, hanging with sports figures, covering amazing women like Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz, Myrlie Evers."
It hasn't always been easy, but she persevered, driven by her belief in the Black press and what it means for the Black community.
"We get to have this audience, this conversation with our community every week," Ashley-Ward says. "What you should be doing, who you should vote for, let's think about who should we have a talk with, because they're not doing their part by giving back to our community."