Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2026

Originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, Alÿcia moved to New York with a one-way ticket, a suitcase, and her guitar. She earned degrees in Philosophy and Theatre from the University at Albany, and later completed a Master’s in Africana Studies, focused on history and philosophy. Her work is shaped by a devotion to legacy, drawing inspiration from her family’s Ashby lineage and a practice of remembrance that asks what we inherit, what we heal, and what we refuse to pass down. Alÿcia serves as Community Engagement Officer for Equity and Inclusion at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, where she leads the Equity Initiative by stewarding participatory grantmaking and helping integrate belonging and values as lived practice throughout the organization and through its relationships. Through this work, she has helped move $200,000+ to support communities across the Berkshire Taconic region, resourcing efforts in food access, sustainable agriculture, cultural preservation, homeownership, community organizing, and expanded access to opportunity.

As a keynote speaker, Alÿcia blends story, scholarship, and cultural work to offer audiences both a mirror and a map, grounding big questions in lived truth and reminding us that the future is something we practice into being.