Ashley Nicole Cook is a national speaker, author, facilitator, and consultant who delivers high-energy and thought-provoking presentations. She is founder of Faith to Confront-a consulting agency that help pastors and ministry leaders prevent child sexual abuse and care well for survivors who have experienced it. As a survivor of intrafamilial and clergy sexual abuse and woman of faith, she has garnered faith leaders' trust throughout the nation and is recognized as a trusted and vital voice in critical conversations about child sexual abuse and its prevention.
After enduring shocking backlash after disclosing her child sexual abuse experiences, Ashley realized there was an opportunity to help others overcome. She has trained hundreds of adults as an Authorized Facilitator for Darkness to Lights Stewards of Children® and is devoted to addressing individual and social factors that influence adults' willingness and ability to take action to prevent child sexual abuse.
In her previous role as the Director of Partnerships at Darkness to Light, Ashley utilized her drive and commitment to this work to coordinate relationships with existing partners and leverage those relationships to greater collective impact. She helped maintain relationships with business partners, enhanced the quality of partner interactions, identified opportunities for new alliances, and worked alongside senior leadership to develop revenue and awareness strategies.
Lending her expertise to various platforms such as the Survivors Agenda- a collective of organizations who believe that survivors should be the ones shaping the national conversation on sexual violence-has created momentum in her pursuit to keep the prevention conversation going. She is regarded as the go-to source on child sexual abuse prevention within the Christian church, college campuses, child advocacy centers, and more. Her experiences have positioned her to present as a subject-matter expert at Harvard Divinity School, Xavier University, The Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, Kent State University, and others.
The darkest moments of Ashley's life became the launching pad for her mission to end sexual abuse and her commitment to helping amplify survivors' voices. In her book, Defiant Girl, she shares her resiliency story and the steps she took to begin living a good life after dealing with an awful experience. She believes that pain stewarded well can become a tool that facilitates healing in others’ lives.
