AAPI Organizing in the South: Redefining Leadership & Creating Space for AAPI Women ft. Ashley Mack

In this episode, Ashley Mack talks about the AAPI organizing communities she is a part of and what it means to be heard at the local and national level. She reflects on what community and home can feel like and shares her experience on being an Asian woman in different spaces throughout her life, including corporate America.Ashley Mack has achieved several career breakthroughs in a short time. Ashley joined Southern Company as a Corporate Accountant in 2012. At the age of 29, she became a manager of people, leading a team of 8 accountants responsible for $1B+ in annual billing revenue among six regulated and deregulated natural gas utilities. In June 2021, she earned the opportunity to lead field operations, making her the first AAPI field operations leader in Atlanta Gas Light’s rich, 165-year history.Ashley is no stranger to the DEI space and promoting the AAPI community. In 2018, Ashley co-founded and served as Chairwoman of Soar, the first Asian ERG at Southern Company Gas. With a mission to recruit, retain and advance AAPI employees across the company and to support the AAPI communities Gas partners with and serves, Ashley was able to gain enterprise recognition for the ERG’s efforts.In 2021, Ashley was appointed Executive Director by the national board of directors. She is theorganization’s second Executive Director and the youngest to serve in this role. She is responsible for leading and executing the strategic plan for the organization as well as creating the culture of the organization with 30 individual chapters, a staff of 12 direct reports, 40+ indirect reports, thousands of active members and 25,000 stakeholders.