Ashley Cornelius is an award-winning spoken word poet whose work amplifies identity, social change, and joy. Ashley is the 2026 Governor’s Leadership Award, Arts and Advocacy recipient. She is the author of Translations from the Soul. She was the first Black Poet Laureate of the Pikes Peak Region. Ashley is an LPC and spent 7 years in healthcare settings pioneering poetry therapy for adolescent psychiatry and staff resilience. Based in Colorado Springs, Ashley is the co-director of the Black-led poetry movement, Poetry719. Ashley offers workshops, programs, training, and poetry commissions nationally and internationally. Ashley builds spaces where art creates connection, liberation, and joy.