Top 7 Under 40s for 2023: Ashley Neville

Death is a concept that most people would not willingly accept, but Ashley Neville waded into it with open arms.

Neville is a social worker and currently leads the holistic care team at Whatcom Hospice. This means she also takes on a leadership role so she no longer works directly with patients and families, which is what she has been doing for the past eight years.

“Right now, I support this wonderful team that includes our social workers, chaplains, bereavement program and volunteer program,” she said. “Also, we are very fortunate that our hospice is able to do comprehensive treatments with our massage therapists and acupuncturists. “That’s my team. “

Whatcom Hospice serves approximately 230 patients in the community and also operates an inpatient hospice. “It’s a lot of relationship work,” Neville said. “I provide clinical support and clinical supervision to social workers, which has a lot of protocols and best practices. “I love my job and it’s extremely challenging. “

Neville admits she took a “weird path” to get to where she is today.

After college, Neville was unsure of the exact career path he wanted to pursue and ended up working as a barista in Portland, Oregon. “Eventually, I went to Africa to volunteer for a while and got involved in some work there,” she said. “I was at an orphanage and we needed to vaccinate all the children against hepatitis B. I helped organize a fundraising project to make that happen, which in retrospect was a macro social work.”

After returning to the United States, a friend mentioned that Neville might be interested in pursuing a career in social work. “That planted the seed,” she said. “It took me several years to get into a master’s degree program.” She worked and volunteered, built up her resume, and eventually got into a two-year master’s in social work program in Boston. “At the time, my focus was on seniors and families. “I had a very close relationship with my grandmother and I loved seniors. “

Neville completed graduate school and began working in Adult Protective Services, which is similar to Child Protective Services but reports elder abuse and other elder emergencies.

“A coworker told me about hospice; they were hiring and I should check it out,” Neville said. “I got the job, and within a week or two, I remember calling my mom and telling her it was incredible, raw, beautiful, real, hard work — and something I had never experienced before. Something I had never experienced before. Very quickly, I knew this was my thing and I’ve been doing it ever since. This is my ninth year working at the hospice.”

In addition to his daily heroics, Neville enjoys enjoying the beautiful outdoors. “I’m a true Pacific Northwester, so if I need to decompress or recharge, I love trail running, yoga and pole dancing — it’s really fun,” she said. “I love moving and being in nature. “I’m quite introverted, so I love spending one-on-one time with family, close friends and my husband, just normal things. “

As for her next move? Neville is expanding his family and solidifying their home in Whatcom County. “My husband and I just got married last year,” she said. “He’s Canadian and we met during COVID — it’s a whole COVID love story. We’re going through the green card process and we want him to actually be able to live here. We’re really excited about the process and we I have also been working hard to start a family in Bellingham. Professionally, I am very happy with where I am at Whatcom Hospice and growing as a leader. “It has been very challenging, but for me Say there are benefits. “

Neville is grateful to be named one of the Whatcom Young Professionals 7 Under 40 and is working hard to earn this honor. “It feels weird and I’m trying to make myself proud,” she said. “I had a feeling of imposter syndrome. Getting this recognition, I couldn’t believe it at first, but I kept trying to accept it because I really worked hard.”