Meet Our Founder
Dedicated to improving the quality of education for students and families.
Ashley E. Harding, MA
Founder and Educational Therapist
Ashley is a fourth-generation educator.
A Los Angeles native, she is the Founder and Educational Therapist of North Star Academics. Her work is grounded in the belief that students do best when their learning is understood in context — through their development, relationships, environment, and lived experience of school. She believes academic challenges are rarely purely academic and that meaningful support must address emotional experience, identity, and the systems surrounding a child.
For more than a decade, Ashley has worked at every level where change happens — with students, families, educators, and school leaders in private and independent school communities. As a speaker and consultant, she works with educators, school leaders, and organizations on the frameworks that shift how schools see and respond to students.
Before founding North Star, she served as Director of External Engagement for a national school network, where she led initiatives reaching more than 6,000 students and co-authored research on systemic disparities affecting Black and Latino students. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and in academic publications alongside Dr. James Jennings of Tufts and Harvard University.
Her advocacy work reflects the same conviction that drives everything else. She serves as President of the Board of the Black Education Advocates Network and on CHADD’s National Board of Directors, where she co-chairs the National Education Committee.
Ashley holds a B.S. from USC and an M.A. in Child Development from Tufts University, with additional study through NYU and as a Graduate Fellow in the University of Pennsylvania's Social Impact program.
Featured Articles, Speaking and Podcasts
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![Ashley Harding featured speaker at the LACOE Conference]()
LACOE Equity & Wellbeing Conference
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![Podcast image about high expectations and hidden struggles]()
Child Nexus
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![Event flyer with a portrait of a woman with long dark hair, smiling, standing outdoors with greenery in the background. The flyer title says 'Diverse Thinking, Different Learning' and mentions a session titled 'Balancing Summer Rest and Learning Support for Diverse Learners,' hosted by Dr. Karen Wilson with special guest Ashley Harding, associated with Child NEXUS.]()
Child Nexus
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![CANVAS REBEL podcast promotional graphic with four women in circular photos and abstract beige, brown, and tan background.]()
Canvas Rebel
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![Promotional graphic for the Badass Women in Business Podcast featuring Ashley Harding from North Star Academics, discussing improving children's educational experiences, with a photo of Ashley smiling, surrounded by colorful design elements and podcast episode information.]()
Badass Women in Business
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![Cover image featuring a woman smiling, with text about Ashley Harding and her work as an entrepreneur in the education space.]()
Entrepreneur's Enigma
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![Promotional graphic for Small Talks podcast featuring Jesse Torres and Ashley Hardling discussing disruption to educational models.]()
Small Talks on Linkedin
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![A torn piece of paper with the text 'Advocating for Children with Learning Differences' and a logo for Private School Village.]()
Private School Village
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![Slide titled 'Campbell Hall: Accelerated Learning in Underrepresented Communities' with the Campbell Hall Episcopal logo below.]()
Campbell Hall
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![A promotional flyer featuring a woman with long dark hair smiling, dressed in a dark blouse with floral pattern, standing outdoors with greenery in the background. The flyer promotes a talk on diverse thinking and different learning, hosted by Dr. Karen Wilson with guest Ashley Harding, emphasizing self-efficacy and self-advocacy for diverse learners.]()
Child Nexus
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![Title slide for a Q&A session on executive functioning at college, with educational therapists Jenny Drennen and Ashley Harding, by Elizabeth Cohen Hamblet, Learning Disabilities Consultant.]()
Elizabeth C. Hamblet
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![Title slide for a presentation on neurodiversity and learning differences from a cultural perspective, featuring headshots of Ashley Harding, Jenny Drennan, and Jenn Gabrial, with logos of Harvard Westlake, PAAWS, and LAPA.]()
Harvard Westlake
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![Screenshot of an article titled "Meet Ashley Harding" from Canvas Rebel, dated April 27, 2023, introducing Ashley Harding and her story.]()
Canvas Rebel
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![Screenshot of an online article titled `Hidden Gems: Meet Ashley Harding of North Star Academics` from VoyageLA website, featuring a photo of Ashley Harding sitting outdoors.]()
Voyage LA
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![Screenshot of a Wall Street Journal article titled "When Tutoring Isn’t Enough, There’s $250-an-Hour Educational Therapy" showing a man teaching two young girls at a table with books, in a classroom setting.]()
The Wall Street Journal
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![Medium Article on North Star]()
Medium
Inspire your audience with valuable insights.
Our founder, an experienced educational therapist, specializes in the intersectionality of neurodivergence and BIPOC learners. Book Ashley for your next event, podcast, or media inquiry.