Ashley
“[Being a woman] means quieting the voice that tells me to play small, neglect my needs, and forgo my dreams to appease others.”
Ashley found her passion early in life following a difficult childhood overshadowed by her father’s substance abuse and eventual suicide. Surprisingly, Ashley came to discover that her darkest and most painful period of life, was in fact, the very catalyst that uncovered her “WHY” for being: to serve others and create a safe space to explore life’s most challenging questions. Now Ashley is a Registered Psychologist, Advanced Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, and Founder and CEO of The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre Inc. in Alberta, Canada. She is also the exclusive Canadian Certification Trainer for The Grief Recovery Institute and a sought-after international speaker, trainer, and thought leader on grief. Ashley is a heart-centred and purpose-driven leader who inspires hope and healing through her story of resilience. Her greatest sense of empowerment comes when she is able to connect with others and help them find the resilience of hope that can empower them—the hope that can only be found in the midst of great challenges and journeys through grief. Meet Ashley. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
A: Hello! I’m Ashley Mielke, the Founder and CEO of The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. I’m also a wife, mother to a beautiful little boy, psychologist, consultant, speaker, doctoral student, endurance runner, and amateur hockey player! I love my family, Jesus, coffee, early mornings, rap music, and being of service to others; all of the things that make me feel most alive!
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
A: “Throwing down my nets” and following Jesus has been the most important decision of my life. I didn’t grow up in church and I haven’t read the bible cover to cover. My relationship with Jesus developed and deepened after a number of painful losses in my life. It’s the only relationship I’ve had that has truly given me sustenance, peace, safety, trust, and unconditional love. He is my best friend, my provider, my guide, and my mentor.
Every decision I make in life and in business, I seek Jesus’ grace and guidance for. When I feel his peace in my heart, I know it is right. When a decision feels forced, coerced, or manipulated, I know it is not from him. The simplicity and surrender of living my life this way has been the most freeing and rewarding experience.
I feel most alive when I am in spaces that allow me to serve, live into my purpose, and let God’s light shine through me; whether that’s making memories with my family, leading my team, sitting with a client, speaking on a stage, inspiring others to find meaning in their life after loss, having heart-to-hearts with my friends, and of course when playing hockey!
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
A: I am most humbled by the resilience that God has given me to overcome tremendous losses and challenges in my life. Even though I’ve experienced deep suffering and could have given up in life and in my business many times, I stayed the path. Only through God’s grace and guidance have I come this far in my life. And it is the suffering I’ve faced that has given me a depth of compassion, generosity, humility, and tenderness that I wouldn’t have developed any other way. Thank you Jesus!
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
A: I tragically lost my dad to suicide in 2010 after he relapsed into alcohol and cocaine addiction. This was the most excruciating and devastating loss of my life. My dad was my absolute everything; my best friend, my emotional rock, and the person I turned to for support. When he died, it felt like a part of me died too. I wasn’t sure how or if I would recover from this loss.
A few years later I found The Grief Recovery Method Program; the program that would transform my life forever. It taught me how to complete what was emotionally unfinished in my relationship with my dad and how to say goodbye to the pain that was keeping me stuck. It was so transformative, that the day after completing the program, I founded The Grief and Trauma Healing Centre. That was in 2013. I knew then that I was called to serve grieving people. God took my greatest pain and turned it for good.
Since 2013 our company has served over 3000 people, we have grown to a team of 22, and we are regarded as the provincial leader for grief support in Alberta. We have specialized in evidence-based approaches to healing that have been shown to effectively help people recover from loss, including The Grief Recovery Method, EMDR, and Somatic Therapy.
I am humbled by the growth and impact our company has had since God planted that purpose in my heart after my dad died. The experience of losing my dad and the suffering I experienced was truly the impetus to discovering my life’s calling.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
A: One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in my 35 years of life is to trust that when the storms and difficult seasons come, that I am being invited into deeper healing, growth, and transformation.
I truly believe that it is the storms we face in life that deepen our capacities for resilience, hope, love, and compassion. The most challenging experiences I’ve faced have also been my greatest teachers. Out of the ashes, comes beauty.
When I face a difficult season of life, I trust that it is an invitation to something deeper and greater, beyond my understanding. I remind myself of the beautiful verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
A: Being a woman to me means stepping into the fullness of my unique purpose and calling in life. It means embracing both my strength and my tenderness. It means embracing my imperfections, vulnerability, and humanness. It means chasing the desires of my heart unapologetically, using my voice to cultivate change, and challenging traditional gender, social, familial, and cultural norms. It means quieting the voice that tells me to play small, neglect my needs, and forgo my dreams to appease others. It means recognizing what I need in order to be a better wife, mother, daughter, leader, entrepreneur, and friend. Being a woman means becoming everything that God has intended me to be - a unique expression of Him on earth.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
A: Every woman in my life inspires me in her own unique way. My mother was a young, single parent who raised me and she did so with incredible grace, humility, hard work, and sacrifice. She inspires me.
My sister-in-law, Rachel Mielke, is an incredibly successful business woman who grew a jewellery empire from her kitchen table. She is also a wife, mother, and cancer survivor. She inspires me.
My friend Jocelyn Davison, who left the corporate world as a top executive to pursue her dream of owning an event planning company. She inspires me.
My friend Kourtney Richardson, who is an Executive Director of a non-profit organization and a dedicated mother of 3. She inspires me.
My friend Glori Meldrum, a child sexual abuse survivor who founded the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch; the leading treatment centre focused on helping children who have been sexually abused. She inspires me.
My friend Bean Gill who co-founded the ReYu Paralysis Recovery Centre after becoming paralyzed during a girls trip to Vegas.
My friend Layna Haley, who started a beautiful charity for single mothers called Kaleo Collective, after overcoming the challenges of teen motherhood herself. She inspires me.
And the brilliant and compassionate women on my team, who are driven by a passion to serve. They inspire me.
One woman I’d like to speak specifically about is my dear friend Kathie Powell. Kathie and I met about 3 years ago. My first experience of her was watching her sing and dance on stage during worship at church. She was in cut-up jeans, a cool graphic tee, and funky glasses. Her beautiful voice, powerful energy, and her “I don’t care who's watching” attitude immediately drew me to her. We had an instant connection and it felt like we’d been friends for 20 years!
What inspires me most about her is not only her incredibly kind, compassionate, and gentle heart, but her authenticity, genuineness, and love for Jesus! She walks with confidence and grace and is the first to admit her vulnerabilities. I love and respect that about her so much. Kathie has led a successful career and has accomplished a lot of things in her life, but despite those “worldly” parts of her, at the centre of her life is her faith and love for Jesus. She has shown me that it is possible to “have it all”; to be a disciple of Jesus, have a successful career, raise a family, travel, have a lot of fun in life, and continually reinvent yourself! Kathie inspires me and makes me feel safe to be my full authentic self. I love you so much Kathie!
More on Ashley
Ashley is also a business consultant for the Practice of the Practice, where she supports and empowers heart-centred therapists to start, grow, and scale their private practices. Ashley was honoured to be named as one of Edify’s Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2021.
Ashley has led workshops and training events for multi-million-dollar corporations, professional associations, non-profits, the City of Edmonton, the Government of Canada, Federal Penitentiaries, and numerous small businesses. She is currently obtaining her Doctor of Psychology degree (PsyD) through California Southern University.