Welcome Back! First Up... Ashley Gallman Williams
Welcome back to our first newsletter of the Fall 2023 semester! This week, we have the pleasure of hearing from Ashley Gallman Williams (C '08). Enjoy!
What year did you graduate from Sewanee?
2008
Did you have any internships during your time at Sewanee? If so, what were they?
I actually interned at the Sewanee Permanent Art Collection, which was curated by John Tilford at the time. My time there was a big part of why I pursued a career in the art business after I left Sewanee.
What made you decide to major in Art History?
I went to public school in Dalton, GA, where they definitely didnât offer Art History classes and the nearest art museum was the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. I had no idea Art History even existed or was an option until I was looking to fulfill my arts credit. I took the Art History Intro course and totally fell in love. I was already committed to being an English Major, but I enjoyed the Art History courses so much I decided to double major despite the double comp requirement.
What was your favorite art history course you took at Sewanee?
I loved all of the classes I took with Dr. Brennecke, who was my advisor, but one of my favorites was a class taught by Dr. Mansfield where we actually read influential literature that was written at the time the art we were studying was created. This approach spoke to my English / Art History double major heart and was such an insightful lens to really dive deep into a cultural moment.
Where did you go after graduating? Whatâs your story postgrad?
My first job out of college was working at Sothebyâs, the auction house in NYC. I worked in client development researching major collectors and their collections and following the news to see any opportunities to buy or sell. I was actually working there during the Damien Hearst Beautiful sale which happened to be the most pivotal week in the 2008 financial crash. Layoffs took place shortly after, but I was lucky to find a new role quickly as the Assistant Director of an Upper East Side gallery specializing in Hudson River School Paintings.
I loved working with the art at the gallery and studying its history and provenance, but I was craving working and collaborating with living artists in a way that gave back. In an attempt to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I started an arts nonprofit with fellow Sewanee alums Lexi Namer and Kate Williamson, and our first exhibit happened to be at a brand new coworking space run by tech company Wix.com.
After the show, Wix offered me a job running the space, and the rest is history. That began my 12 year career in Community Management at tech companies. Running that community space eventually evolved into a national and then global event series and ambassador program. My work at Wix caught the eye of the Airbnb Experiences team, which was looking to hire its first Community Manager at the time. After 5.5 years at Airbnb building the Experience Host community and then moving over to Airbnb Homes to lead the global Host Clubs program, I recently joined ClassDojo, where I am working to build an international community of teachers.
If you had to give one piece of advice to your college self, what would it be?
This tends to be a controversial opinion, but my advice would be: donât have a 5 or 10 year plan. Always explore a door before you close it. The career of your future that will bring you energy and fulfillment may not even exist today, and you never know where an opportunity may take you. Most of the great moments in my career have come through being open to serendipity and curiosity.
Thank you so much Ashley for taking the time to tell us about your post-graduate path. Be on the lookout next week for another alumni conversation!