Ashley earned her BA in Public Policy and Visual Art/Art History at Duke University, attended law school at the University of Denver and graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art (now Willamette University) with her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies and Master of Arts in Critical Studies. She also completed Music Business Master of Business Administration coursework with Berklee College of Music/Southern New Hampshire University, studied art with Studio Arts College International in Italy and studied ecology in Costa Rica with the Duke Talent Identification Program. She currently serves as a Visiting Professor of Arts Administration at Elon University where she teaches Intro to Arts Administration, Arts Administration and Community, Legal Aspects of Entertainment and Art, EcoArt, Global Perspectives and an Arts Administration Senior Seminar and serves as a Faculty Advisor for the Loy Farm Living Learning Community, Limelight Record Label and Interim Program Coordinator supporting the Arts Administration and Art Departments.

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She has served as General Counsel and Vice President for multiple private companies in media, recreation and plant medicine. including Sensi Media Group, LLC. In 2012, she founded The Hollan Entertainment Law Group, LLC, an entertainment and litigation law firm serving Atlanta and Nashville, representing clients such as Bloodkin front-man and renowned songwriter Daniel Hutchens (covered often by jamband Widespread Panic) and talent in shows such as Jungletown on Vice. She also celebrated an exceptional trial record in the courtroom as a Contract Complex Conflict Defender with the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, handling cases for clients with charges up to and including murder with penalties up to and including life without parole in Fulton County, Georgia and beyond.

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In 2016, Ashley joined Live Nation Entertainment, LLC, the "world's leading live entertainment company" (and parent company of Ticketmaster), where she served first as an Artist Rights Consultant and then as Associate Counsel supporting the Legal, Productions, and Media and Sponsorship divisions on projects with A-List artists and top international brands. Drafting and negotiating deals for projects such as Lady Gaga's official documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two, Ashley had the opportunity to work with collaborators including Sony, Warner, Universal, Spotify, Hulu, Apple, Yahoo!, Salesforce, Citibank, Vice Media, LLC, NextVR, Twitter, Pepsi, Honda, Rock Revival, Cisco, Heineken, Jack Daniels, Hilton, Pennzoil, State Farm, Red Light Management, NFL, NBA, NASCAR and others. She also negotiated and drafted live event deals for festivals including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, VoodooFest and Gov Ball and concerts at venues all around the United States. Ashley previously worked as a Litigation Project Attorney for international, full service firm King & Spalding, LLP, serving clients including Home Depot, Coca Cola and Toyota, as an Associate Attorney for intellectual property firm McCoy Russell, LLP, serving recreation-focused gadget, apparel and nutrition companies. Her work also includes support as Advertising Policy Counsel and Senior Associate for Beacon Hill Legal counseling international Adtech clients Quantcast and Rakuten, where she worked on deals for Rakuten's Super Bowl commercial​​​ and crafted policies and templates for use across departments.

 

Before she was formally licensed to practice law, Ashley's entertainment and recreation-focused internships included service with the Duke Primate Center, top hockey agency K.O. Sports, Rock the Earth, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and AEG Live, Rocky Mountain Region, in Concert Promotions. She was also the President of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Sports and Entertainment Law Society and was a Staff Editor and Author for the Sports and Entertainment Law Journal. Immediately after graduating law school, Ashley moved to Nashville and began her career shadowing and serving as a Teaching Assistant at Nashville School of Law for well-known music law Attorney Bob Sullivan of Loeb & Loeb, known for representing artists including Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Lynryrd Skynyrd and Madonna and as an Associate in the early days of Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Since then, Ashley has developed an international practice, and in 2024, she founded Make / Believe Law LLC to offer her 20 years of expertise in entertainment and recreation business and law to serve her brilliant, creative clients making impacts around the world, such as Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival and The Alternative Art School.

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Ashley's volunteer service includes leadership with the American Bar Association, where she led the Young Lawyers Division as Vice Chair of Committees and as Co-Chair of the Committee on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, winning "Star of the Quarter," has been an active member and Author for the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and has been honored with an award from the ABA Immigration Justice Project. She serves as a Volunteer Lawyer with Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts and has volunteered with Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, Triangle Artworks, the National Association of Record Industry Professionals and Atlanta's International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. She is a Professional Member and Grammy U Mentor with The Recording Academy and also holds memberships with the Association of Arts Administrators Educators, Society for Arts Entrepreneurship Education and The Alternative Art School.

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Ashley has been invited to speak at myriad universities including Emory University, Lewis & Clark University. University of Denver, Pacific Northwest College of Art, John Marshall School of Law, Elon University, East Tennessee State University, Florida State University and Portland State University and has spoken and produced panels at entertainment, academic, legal and business conferences including Americanafest, the American Bar Association's events throughout the United States, the National Association of Record Industry Professionals, the Country Music Association, Bronze Lens Film Festival, the Georgia Bar Association, the San Diego Bar Association and others. Her writing has been published in formal bar association periodicals, academic commentaries, pop culture publications and around immersive art spaces. Her artwork has been selected for juried and other exhibitions throughout the United States and online and has been included in exhibitions covered by industry publications including Hyperallergic and she was a recent finalist for the role of Poet Laureate of Chapel Hill 2025-2026. 

 

Ashley is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Georgia, USA.