Dana Ashley has been on one end of the phone or the other scheduling speakers and artists for over 40 years. She understands the needs and budget challenges of her clients and does her best to serve them with excellence and reliability.
Dana also specializes in finding speakers you have in mind but aren't listed here. The Ashley Agency - Full Service Provider!
Dana likes to say God has a great sense of humor .. the path He has taken her down proves it! One of her favorite movies, Bella, has a wonderful opening quote: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans ..”
Church has always been a major part of Dana’s life. Born into a Marine Corps Drill Instructor’s family of 7 in 1954, church attendance was pretty much required anytime the doors were open. From 1979-89, Dana worked as an administrative assistant and events coordinator for a 10,000-seat church in Central Florida. And yes, it was her responsibility to handle the dreaded ‘booking agent’ calls – but in 1989, God turned the tables on her. While still in Florida, she was approached to book concerts for a newly formed group out of Nashville and eventually moved there in 1990 to become a full time booking agent.
For 10 years, from 1992 through 2002, Dana worked as in-house ‘scheduling coordinator’ (the kinder, gentler term for booking agent) with the best group you’ve never heard of - a tenor trio, SPIRITBOUND. She spent those years calling 50-60 churches a day, 5 days a week, keeping the guys booked 50 solid weekends per year, 3 to 4 concerts per week, until (exhausted), they came off the road in 2002. Ambassador Speakers Bureau was the next stop along the path and Dana came to enjoy booking speakers, authors and comedians in church and corporate events from 2002 to 2016. She enjoys telling her sponsors that she can certainly empathize with them, having been on the other end of that phone call. While at Ambassador, her days were full scheduling 250+ speaking clients for church and corporate events. In January 2017, Dana re-established The Ashley Agency and is currently scheduling speakers and artists with her own firm.
Dana resides in the Nashville area and is enjoying this season of her life as a Grammy. Her two children and four grandchildren are the loves of her life and she enjoys sharing about the unique path God has set before her as a single Mom, Grammy and Daughter of His.
