Meet Ashley

A passionate educator with over fifteen years of curriculum and program design experience, Ashley Carruth serves as the Dean of Experiential Education at Animas High School, where she seeks to help youth develop a strong sense of self worth and belonging through mentorship, outdoor adventure, connection to wild places and authentic leadership opportunities.

She began her journey in snowsports as the daughter of a Wyoming cowboy turned US Ski team member. She had no choice but to throw on her brother's hand-me-down ski boots and bang some gates. However, her true passion quickly became backcountry skiing; the quiet and solitude coupled with the physical challenge drew her in.  As an educator, she has sought ways to expose my students to the mountains, and to backcountry winter navigation in specific, which led her to pursue her Instructor Training Course (ITC) avalanche certification to teach avalanche education. She aspires to make avalanche education more accessible to the youth throughout the San Juan Mountains. 

Ashley received her B.A. in English and Education from Dartmouth College, after which she worked for the International Rescue Committee, coached soccer and alpine ski racing, and started a project-based learning school-within-a-school in Basalt, Colorado. After earning her Master’s in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at Stanford University in 2011, Ashley moved to Durango to teach Humanities at Animas. She has since developed a deep sense of place and community rooted in the jagged ridgelines and steep scree fields of the San Juan Mountains, the silt-laden waters of the San Juan River, the yawning labyrinth of canyons of the Colorado Plateau, the intrepid urban deer, skittish alpine coyotes, and big-hearted Durangotang bipeds.

Ashley’s work as an educator, coach, and mentor has been enriched by her connection to the human and natural worlds in and around the San Juan Mountains. She aims to share her respect for these communities with her students, while also helping them to develop a sense of place and belonging that encourages environmental stewardship and community resilience. In addition to being a proud Osprey, Ashley is the co-founder of San Juan Mountain SOLES, an outdoor leadership program for high school students.