Ashley Watson is an arts manager, educator and fundraiser. Perviously she was the Development Officer at the Royal Botanical Gardens and has worked in fund development and partnership cultivation roles at Lakeshore Arts. She was the inaugural Curator for Humber Galleries where she managed two gallery spaces and was responsible for starting a contemporary Canadian art collection. She has also been a sessional and guest lecturer in the Arts Management program at the University of Toronto, Humber College and the University of Guelph. Her professional experience is supported by her academic studies with a BA in Arts Management from the University of Toronto and an MFA from the University of Leicester in Art Museum and Gallery Studies, during which she was awarded the Community Leadership Prize. She also relishes her time spent in the garden and hiking with her pup Hector.
