As RGISC’s STEAM and Community Engagement Manager, Ashley Garcia focuses on engaging the community, particularly youth, through science, technology, and art initiatives connected to the core of our mission, which is to highlight the need to conserve our ecosystems and our only water source in Laredo, TX, the Rio Grande. Some of her programs include Rio Research Roundup, Loving Laredo Paddles, Loving Laredo Hikes, and STEAM summer camps. Ashley mentioned that witnessing Laredo’s youth participate in environmentally focused activities gives her the hope that future generations will learn to value and protect the ribbons of life flowing through many of our communities. 

Before joining RGISC, Ashley worked in secondary education for over four years, teaching science,  leading the Gifted and Talented program, and overseeing the science fair at her previous campus. 

Ashley graduated from Texas A&M International University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Anthropology, and then she received her Master of Science in Biology. Her master’s thesis, “Effect of Triclosan-Tolerant Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Triclosan Degradation in Soils,” inspired her to follow a career that promotes the sciences to the community and understand how our actions can affect our ecosystems.

Ashley enjoys traveling to new destinations, trying new food, and hiking in her spare time.