Katie Ashley
Governor Bill Haslam on Wednesday announced Katie Ashley will serve as director of legislation, the governor’s chief advisor and strategist for legislative matters.
The Crockett County native is one of the longest serving Haslam staffers, starting out on his campaign in 2009 before becoming a legislative liaison in 2011 and handling one of the governor’s top priorities: education in Tennessee.
“Katie knows this administration and the legislative process inside and out, and I am incredibly excited that she will take on this expanded role,” Governor Haslam said.
“She has been an integral piece to so much of what we’ve done around education in Tennessee, and her experience will serve the state well as we continue our efforts around jobs, education and efficient and effective government.”
Ms. Ashley has served as deputy director of legislation since 2015, helping develop and implement the administration’s overall legislative priorities and strategy while managing the administration’s legislative liaison team across 23 departments. She has also been instrumental in the governor’s Drive to 55 initiative and with the passage of the Tennessee Promise and FOCUS Acts. Ashley will replace Warren Wells as director of legislation on December 1
“I have admired Governor Haslam and his commitment to helping make Tennessee the best place to call home since I began working for him more than eight years ago. Having the chance to be part of his administration has given me the opportunity to grow and to work on some really amazing initiatives and priorities,” she said. “I am truly looking forward to continuing to support the governor’s vision for my home state in this new role.”
Before joining the governor’s campaign as scheduler, Ms. Ashley was a constituent relations manager in U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s office. She graduated from the University of Tennessee, Martin cum laude with a bachelor’s in University Studies, with an emphasis in political science.
Ms. Ashley, 31, and her husband, Luke, live with their daughter, Ryall, in Franklin and attend Church of the City there.