See the Board in a whole new way.

Ashley Lynn Priore is an American chess player, educator, and strategist who has reimagined chess as a framework for leadership, equity, and personal agency. A former competitive player with the United States Chess Federation, she began teaching at age eight and founded Queens Gambit at fourteen. Today, the nationally recognized nonprofit serves more than 2,000 students annually - primarily girls and students of color - using chess to build strategic thinking, confidence, and civic awareness.

Through her consulting firm, Queenside Ventures, Ashley applies chess as a decision-making model for executives, athletes, and organizations navigating complexity, growth, and high-stakes moments. Her signature philosophy - mapping your personal chessboard - helps leaders see patterns, anticipate change, and move with intention.

From 2020–2023, she brought her curriculum to a national audience through Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth. She also founded Project d4, a global initiative aiming to teach one million women chess as a tool for confidence, influence, and leadership in traditionally male-dominated spaces.

Ashley’s leadership within the chess world spans institutions and advocacy. She served in multiple leadership roles on the board of the Pittsburgh Chess Club - one of the oldest clubs in the country - and authored The Case for Investing in Women’s Chess (2024), a widely circulated report positioning the game as both a competitive sport and a leadership pipeline for women. She is the creator of the Women’s Chess is Women’s Sports movement.

At Queens Gambit, she leads curriculum, partnerships, and national expansion strategy, including launching Chess Week in Pittsburgh and the city’s first Chess Fest. The organization’s defining feature is its model: youth don’t just participate - they lead, shaping programming, strategy, and vision from the inside out.

Ashley is widely recognized for advancing gender equity across industries, helping women and girls step into leadership with confidence, clarity, and strategic agency. Through Queens Gambit and Queenside Ventures, she designs environments where women are equipped not just to participate, but to lead - strengthening decision-making, access, and long-term influence.

She currently serves on the board of the Women and Girls Foundation, supporting statewide policy and systems change that expands opportunity for women across Pennsylvania. Her work also focuses on building leadership pathways in traditionally male-dominated arenas, including sports, politics, chess, and STEM.

Ashley is the visionary behind Project d4, a global initiative to teach one million women chess as a tool for strategic thinking, confidence, and influence. The movement reclaims space in a historically exclusive game and equips participants with a lifelong leadership framework. She is also the creator of the Women’s Chess is Women’s Sports movement.

Through her podcast Queen Me!, she highlights women and changemakers who have reshaped their industries and claimed their voice. Her work has been featured alongside leaders such as Hoda Kotb, Tyra Banks, and Bobbi Brown in The Epic Mentor Guide, and she contributed to Amanda Litman’s When We’re In Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership.

Ashley’s advocacy is grounded in a clear philosophy: equity must be structural, not symbolic - and leadership systems must be designed with women at the center from the start.

Ashley is recognized nationally for her work advancing youth political engagement and intergenerational policy design. In 2019, she made history as one of Pennsylvania’s youngest candidates for public office, quickly emerging as a rising voice in civic reform and youth-led governance.

She founded Youth Political Strategies (YPS) - the nation’s first youth-led campaign strategy firm - which advised more than 30 political campaigns on generational outreach, platform development, and digital strategy. Clients included U.S. Senate, mayoral, city council, and state legislative candidates across the country, making YPS a trusted partner for campaigns seeking to meaningfully engage Gen Z voters and elevate youth policy priorities.

To strengthen the policy infrastructure behind this work, Ashley launched the Congress for Governmental Engagement, a civic think tank focused on youth-centered legislative reform and strengthening connections between citizens and public institutions. She also founded The White House Youth Movement, a national advocacy effort supporting formal youth representation in federal decision-making. Her strategic roadmap, The Playbook for Youth Engagement, has informed national policy conversations and provided a blueprint for integrating younger voices into governance.

In 2023, Ashley was appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro to Pennsylvania’s Advisory Commission on Next Gen Engagement, where she helps shape statewide youth policy, civic infrastructure, and intergenerational representation.

Ashley is a national leader in intergenerational governance and a driving force behind reshaping nonprofit leadership to include and elevate younger voices. In 2019, she founded Y’22: A Youth on Boards Movement, the first national initiative dedicated to placing young people in nonprofit boardrooms and training organizations in collaborative governance, age equity, and leadership succession.

As Founder, President, and CEO of Queens Gambit, Ashley has led a nationally recognized nonprofit for more than a decade, building youth-led programming, expanding organizational infrastructure, and positioning chess as a platform for leadership development, civic engagement, and strategic thinking.

Over the past ten years, she has served on more than twenty nonprofit boards and advisory bodies. Her current board service includes the Women and Girls Foundation and the Western PA Bleeding Disorders Foundation, alongside past leadership roles with organizations spanning education, health, workforce development, arts, youth services, and civic engagement.

She has also advised institutions such as the American Lung Association of Pennsylvania, WQED Multimedia, Multiplying Good, and national youth governance initiatives, helping organizations strengthen leadership pipelines and design more inclusive decision-making structures.

Ashley’s nonprofit work is grounded in a clear principle: leadership systems are strongest when they are intentionally built to include the people closest to the future.

Through Queenside Ventures, Ashley works with professional athletes and elite organizations to integrate strategic thinking into high-performance environments. Her firm has partnered with leading NFL franchises - including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers - delivering leadership development grounded in foresight, adaptability, and decision-making under pressure.

Her methodology combines chess-based strategy with elite performance principles, helping athletes strengthen mental endurance, expand situational awareness, and think beyond immediate outcomes. The result is not just stronger competitors, but more intentional leaders - equipped for both peak performance and long-term success beyond the game.

In addition to her work with professional teams, Ashley is a recognized advocate for equity in sports. She authored The Case for Investing in Women’s Chess (2024), a widely circulated report outlining structural barriers and actionable solutions to expand investment, visibility, and sponsorship opportunities for women in competitive chess. She is also the creator of the Women’s Chess is Women’s Sports movement.

Her global initiative Project d4 extends this mission by teaching one million women strategic thinking through chess, equipping them with tools for confidence, leadership, and influence across industries - including athletics.

Through Queenside Ventures, Ashley advises founders, executives, public figures, and mission-driven organizations on building distinctive, high-impact platforms rooted in strategy and purpose. Her work spans brand positioning, digital presence, narrative development, and communications architecture - helping clients translate vision into influence.

Her portfolio includes political campaigns, product launches, thought-leadership platforms, and legacy-driven personal brands. Across industries, she equips clients to clarify their message, strengthen public presence, and build recognition that is both authentic and enduring.

Ashley’s approach integrates strategic messaging with creative direction, combining visual storytelling, media strategy, and positioning frameworks to ensure every brand decision supports long-term growth. Whether guiding a founder’s platform or reshaping an organization’s public narrative, she designs strategies that build trust, visibility, and momentum.

Grounded in a chess mindset, Ashley brings an anticipatory lens to brand strategy - helping clients think several moves ahead, navigate complex landscapes, and lead conversations rather than react to them. Her work doesn’t just help brands stand out; it helps them stand for something.

Ashley’s writing examines the intersections of youth representation, gender equity, systems thinking, and civic transformation - exploring how narratives shape culture, leadership, and power. With a background in English Literature, she brings a literary and analytical lens to her work, blending cultural critique, strategic insight, and policy perspective.

Her published work includes contributions to Ms. Magazine, Western Pennsylvania History Magazine, Leader to Leader, and Sustainability Stories (2024) where she authored a chapter on youth representation in government as a pillar of global sustainability. Across essays, commentary, and long-form analysis, her work explores topics ranging from gender equity in sports to the strategic role of storytelling in public life.

Ashley’s voice also appears widely across national media, both through her own bylines and as a featured strategist and commentator. She has been quoted or profiled in outlets including Forbes, Fox Sports, Katie Couric Media, Elite Daily, Pittsburgh Magazine, and university and national publications.

Through her writing and public commentary, Ashley continues to challenge traditional narratives of leadership - expanding who is heard, who is seen, and who gets to shape the future.

Ashley is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, and podcast host whose work explores strategy, leadership, intergenerational equity, and systems change. Known for her dynamic presence and intentional messaging, she has delivered keynotes and featured talks on civic reform, governance, gender equity, youth leadership, and power-building - all grounded in her signature chess-based leadership philosophy.

She is the creator and host of Queen Me!, a nationally recognized podcast spotlighting visionary changemakers who have reshaped their industries and communities. Originally launched during the pandemic as a civic interview series, the show quickly grew into a platform featuring leaders across politics, business, sports, and media, including presidential candidate Tom Steyer, former presidential advisor David Simas, NFL coach Jen Welter, and music executive Jennifer Justice.

Ashley is frequently invited to speak across national platforms, including conferences, universities, summits, and leadership forums. In 2023, she joined Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for a public dialogue on political inclusion and youth voice, and she headlined Checkmate with Ashley Lynn Priore at the University of Texas at Austin - a featured event focused on strategy, leadership, and social impact.

She is represented by All American Speakers, where she has been recognized in spotlight lists such as Inspiring Young Female Leaders and Future Women in Leadership.

Whether on stage, in conversation, or in the media, Ashley equips audiences with the mindset, language, and tools to think strategically, act decisively, and lead with purpose.