Director, Communications & Operations
We Are ILL

Ashley M. Ratcliff is a bestselling author, communications professional, invisible illness advocate, and speaker who lives to tell stories in myriad formats. She currently serves as Director of Communications & Operations with We Are ILL, a patient advocacy nonprofit on a mission to redefine what “sick” looks like by making the MS community more inclusive and by involving Black women and women of color in the conversations surrounding MS awareness, education, and treatment.

Being diagnosed with MS in March 2018 ignited Ashley’s passion for supporting and uplifting Black women living with MS and other chronic illnesses. Noticing the dearth of representation of women who look like her and the barriers to accessing relevant information for newly diagnosed patients, Ashley wrote Jesus Year, a self-help memoir that caters to both segments of MS patients.

Publishing Jesus Year — her first solo book — during the COVID-19 pandemic is one of Ashley’s proudest achievements. The book became a bestseller on Amazon in April 2021, and she released the audiobook version, which she narrated, in December 2021 on the anniversary of the print release. Ashley previously co-authored a collection of short stories titled Stories 4 Women, focusing on the beauty and diversity of the woman’s experience. The book earned an honorable mention at the Hollywood Book Festival.

Ashley resides in Long Beach, California, where she serves as the co-chair of the MS Society’s Long Beach Community Council and is the captain of the five-year top fundraising Walk MS team, Ashley’s Crew for a Cure. She also is a member of the Society’s Black MS Community Engagement Advisory Committee.