♥ COMPASSION ♥ EDUCATION ♥ LOVE
♥ LIBERTY ♥ UBUNTU♥
WHO IS
ASHLEY SHADE
In 2019, Ashley Shade arrived at the Fall Foliage Parade for its first planned Pride float and found she was the only one who had come ready to march. She raised her rainbow Gadsden flag and headed down Main Street alongside another group marching in support of civil rights. Along the route, Ashley spotted two teenagers wearing Pride flags of their own. They were thrilled to see someone like them walking in the parade, waving a giant Pride flag. Ashley went over, invited them to join her, and together they finished the parade route.
Ashley took one lesson home from that day and has carried it into public life ever since: it is always the right decision to show up, even when you are alone.
Ashley Shade is President of the North Adams City Council, chosen unanimously by her colleagues in January 2026 to lead the council in her third term. She was first elected in 2021 and re-elected in 2023 and 2025. At the beginning of her second term, her colleagues unanimously elected her Vice President.
Ashley is a long-time resident of North Adams, having moved here with her family in 1991. After graduating from Charles H. McCann Technical High School, she entered the workforce and later attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, where her interest in politics and civics began. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Her professional career has given Ashley opportunities to help people while continuing her work as an advocate. She served as a Senior Service Support Consultant for Wayfair, where she also led an Employee Resource Group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies and was appointed to the company's Corporate Impact Council.
Ashley remains actively involved in organizations serving North Adams and the Berkshires, with a particular focus on advocating for marginalized communities. Today, she works in healthcare as a billing and collections specialist in a hospital setting. Her professional background also includes customer service, pharmacy, and nursing home settings, giving her insight into many of the systems and challenges that affect people throughout the community.
She has served on the city's Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Access (I.D.E.A.) Commission since 2020, including four years as co-chair. She previously served on the Human Services Commission and led the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition as president. In March 2026, she was inducted into the North Adams Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.
WHAT ASHLEY HAS ACCOMPLISHED
CURFEW ORDINANCE
REPEALED
PUBLIC COMMENT
EXPANDED
LGBTQ+ SANCTUARY RESOLUTION
ADOPTED
CHAIRS CODIFICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
FIRST FULL UPDATE SINCE THE 1960'S
CITY ORDINANCE MODERNIZATION
INTRODUCED ONE OF THE STATE'S MOST COMPREHENSIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ORDINANCES
S.A.F.E A.I. ORDINANCE
ABOUT
NORTH ADAMS
Over the past four decades, North Adams has gone through tremendous changes and faced extremely difficult struggles. More than 40 years have passed since Sprague Electric closed its doors, an impact we are still working to recover from.
Our city has done an excellent job of rebranding and making North Adams a tourist destination rich in arts and culture. However, we have neglected the most important piece of our city: the residents who live here. Our poverty rates are among the highest in the state. Our hospital sat closed for ten years before reopening in 2024, and our residents face an opioid epidemic and high rates of domestic violence. Those struggles are tied to our lack of quality jobs, economic development, and mental health resources.
North Adams has the potential to be the economic center of the Berkshires. We have plenty of space for businesses and low real estate prices, and we are centrally located between Albany, New York City, and Boston, without all the crazy city traffic. We also have two tremendous resources that people overlook: the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and our neighboring institution, Williams College.
