Introduction
Ashley C. Ford is an American writer, podcaster and educator who deals with topics including race, sexuality and body image. She is the host of the podcast 112BK and was the senior features writer at Refinery29. Forbes Magazine named her one of their "30 Under 30 in Media" in 2017.
Early life and education
Ford is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she was raised by her mother and grandmother. Ford graduated in 2011 with a degree in English from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Ford, who identifies as queer, credits her time at Ball State as one of the places she was able to explore her sexuality.
Career
Ford has written for publications including The Guardian, ELLE, BuzzFeed, and Slate as well as lifestyle blog A Cup of Jo. Ford is the host of Brooklyn-based television program and podcast 112BK, has hosted the BuzzFeed News podcast "Profile", and was previously the host of the first season of Audible.com's interview series Authorized. In 2017, she was senior features writer at Refinery29, and that year, she was named as one of Forbes Magazine’s "30 Under 30 in Media". She was announced as a TIME100 Talks correspondent in August 2020.
Much of her writing covers personal topics, including her life as a black, queer writer; her history as a survivor of sexual assault; and her experiences with a family member in prison for most of her childhood. Ford's essay "My Father Spent 30 Years in Prison. Now He's Out." was named on Longread's Best of 2017 list. She considers the writer Roxane Gay a mentor. She began writing her memoir, Somebody's Daughter, in 2018, forthcoming from Flatiron Books. Somebody's Daughter will be released on June 1, 2021.
In 2018, Ford played the Narrator in a stage production of The Nightmare Before Christmas, at the New York cabaret Feinstein's/54 Below.
Ford is the host of the short fiction podcast, The Chronicles of Now, co-hosts the HBO companion podcast Lovecraft Country Radio, and is the former host of Mastercard's Fortune Favors The Bold.
Activism
Ford has used social media to drive fundraising campaigns for charitable causes, being credited for helping to raise $450,000 for the Ferguson, Missouri public library in 2014 and over $100,000 to pay off school lunch debts in 2017.
Personal life
Ford is married to the writer, Kelly Stacy. They have a chocolate lab named Astro Renegade Ford-Stacy. She identifies as queer.