Ashlea Walton ('01)
Clinical Therapist
Ashlea was part of the first group of students at the newly opened Rudolf Steiner HS on Packard in the Genesis building. She moved from Milwaukee after many life-changes, including the death of her sister. Mary Emery and Geoff Robb, the founding teachers at the HS, encouraged a community of learners that respected and supported each other. Their caring, but firm style along with Ashlea’s close relationships to classmates, evoked a feeling of family that helped her navigate school, life, and work.
After graduating in 2001, she attended Eastern Michigan University, earning degrees in Communications and Psychology. While attending college, she worked part-time in the front office of the new high school campus, connecting with students, and even meeting her future husband when he was delivering lunch to his sister! After college, her passion to help people emerged while working at a real estate agency in low-income housing, helping families find stable housing and resources.
Drawing on her appreciation of her Waldorf education, Ashlea found herself back at RSSAA helping with special projects and eventually building the RSSAA Alum program with the fundraising team. Her children were part of the early childhood program and she’s reconnected with other alums who now have their children at RSSAA.
Her desire to help people led her to pursue a master’s degree in clinical social work, all while working at RSSAA and raising her three children. This August, she will begin her new career as a clinical therapist in a private practice in Ann Arbor, where her focus will be on working with adolescent and adult mental health.
Ashlea is still connected to many of her Steiner friends and has made meaningful friendships throughout her time working at RSSAA. She feels her pull to social work is deeply connected to her time at Steiner, where she had the privilege of truly getting to know her classmates and teachers, being encouraged to be herself, and learning the importance of helping others.