Ashley Walsh

As a leader in her family business, Ashley knows the value of vision, passion, and impact. Those attributes were engrained in her from an early age by her grandfather, Dr. Joe Mattioli, who built and ran not only the famous Pocono Raceway, but also many other businesses and philanthropies that benefitted the people and communities in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Ashley was driven from a young age to create and be part of change. She was in the first class of woman at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley, California, to graduate from what had been an all-male academy for 132 years. She did so in just three years. She went on to graduate from Elon University, NC, in three years.

While holding numerous leadership positions within the family business, Ashley was a founding member of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Professional Women in Construction organization and named one of the Top 25 Women in Business in Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA). She continued on this path until she was diagnosed with gastroparesis, a paralyzed stomach, in her late 20s. Western medicine’s solutions included removal of her stomach and feeding tubes.

Her personal health journey radically shifted her approach to life and the positive impact of food.

Ashley began researching organic foods and took on an organic lifestyle that delivered undeniable results for her health and lifestyle.

Her vision and passion for how organic food could be used, on a global level, as medicine and help others live a healthier, fulfilling life was the catalyst for Pocono Organics – a 90-acre farm with 120,000-square-feet of greenhouse space located in Long Pond, Pa.

Pocono Organics, in partnership with Rodale Institute, is poised to be the largest Regenerative Organic Farm in North America. Designed to be a source of nutrient-dense food, it is also an experiential and education center as well as research outpost for Rodale, The Crop Trust, and many other food-forward organizations, chefs, and restaurants.

Ashley is the president/founder of Pocono Organics as well as secretary/treasurer of Pocono Raceway and lives in Ventnor City, NJ, with her husband, Frankie, and young son, Frankie, Jr.