Ashley Oliver Thomas, Esq. is a civil rights attorney, DEI leader, yoga teacher, and bestselling author who writes about grief, identity, and the sacred messiness of becoming. As the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Staffmark Group, Ashley has built and led a national DEI strategy, launching seven employee resource groups and driving cultural change across the organization. She was named a 2023 DEI Influencer by Staffing Industry Analysts and helped the company earn recognitions from Newsweek and Military Friendly for its DEI efforts.

She is also the author of The Manifestation Journal for Black Women, an Amazon bestseller that centers radical rest and intentional healing for Black women, femmes, and non-binary people. Through her platform Yoga and Mahogany, she promotes restorative wellness practices and shares stories that explore grief, softness, and self-reclamation. Her work has led to collaborations with brands such as Nordstrom, CVS, and Penguin Random House, and she’s cultivated a loyal community of over 40,000 across platforms.

A proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Ashley serves as the Central Regional Social Media Chairman and is an ambassador for Ivy Storehouse. She is a registered yoga teacher currently pursuing trauma-informed certification to support others through healing. Her writing is shaped by her legal background, her faith, her anxiety, and the sudden loss of her best friend, Tawanda—the grief at the heart of her debut memoir.

Ashley’s work lives at the intersection of justice, wellness, and storytelling, and she is committed to creating space for voices—especially Black women’s voices—that are often held in silence.