Enginuity Employee Spotlight: Ashley White, Business Development Specialist

Welcome to the Enginuity Employee Spotlight series! This new series will share employee stories, focused on their achievements, personality, successes, challenges, and more to get to know them in and outside of work. The series will build connections among employees and boost belonging and inclusion among our larger community.  

Our next employee spotlight features Ashley White, a Market Enginuity Business Development Specialist supporting our Texas station partners, including KERA and KXT in Dallas, Houston Public Media and KUT and KUTX in Austin. Ashley began her Enginuity career 10 months ago after leaving a sales role. She immediately fell in love with Market Enginuity’s culture and has become a jack-of-all trades when it comes to supporting Account Managers with best-in-class research and sales materials. We are excited for you to get to know her better.

Tell us about one of your favorite work stories

This was a hard question to answer! I don’t interact a lot with sponsors, but I loved being able to meet up with the Houston team for lunch when Brian was in town—it was a great way to break up the work-from-home routine! It was the first time I got to meet everybody in person since joining the team, and it was really great. It was so funny walking up to the table because everyone was like “hey you do have legs!” So overall, it was great to just sit down, talk, and get to know each other more as people.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I'm an absolutely voracious reader. I also like to garden, quilt, cook, and bake! I would say pasta is my weakness. I just love pasta and I’ve been able to make all different kinds. It’s great because I have an herb and vegetable garden in my backyard, so it’s nice to throw in fresh tomatoes or put in some fresh sage or basil. It really enhances the flavor.

I’ve also baked a little bit of everything, but I’ve made a lot of cookies and bread. I would say cookies are my number one go-to. Honestly, anything with chocolate is my fave.

What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years? 

The biggest thing for me through the pandemic was picking up hobbies and finding things I liked, as well as setting work-life boundaries to allow myself time and energy to focus on my mental health. I'm more productive and overall happier both at home and at work because of it.

Being able to do what I need to do in the way I want to is great, especially if I have a difficult or challenging request. It’s nice to be able to go for a walk and not stare at my screen, that way I can step away, think about it, and then come back with a more refreshed focus. Having WFH flexibility has been really great for my mental health and I will definitely never go back to being in an office. 

What would people never guess you do in your role? 

I learn a lot about a variety of industries! In creating proposals, I get to see a snapshot of the values and challenges of so many different types of businesses and organizations. I’ve worked on categories across the board, everything from hospitals, fitness, school, art shows, museums, insurance agencies, to banks! I’ve loved being able to learn about a lot of industries I’ve never really thought about before, especially local businesses. It’s fun to discover businesses I didn’t know existed here in Texas, and then being able to spot them now. I feel like I’ve got a better idea about the scope of my own community. I’ve done some really fun projects.

Where would you like to go on a dream vacation? 

It's a personal goal of mine to visit every country in the world during my lifetime! But right now, at the top of my list are Australia and New Zealand. In total, I’ve been to 19 different countries, but I still have a long way to go. For now, my favorite places I’ve been to are Europe, Japan, Korea, Israel, and Iceland.

Ashley would love to talk more about books and give you her recommendations! She actually runs a “bookstagram” where she posts about books she has read and shares her reviews. Follow her @anwhitebooks, and you’ll be able to see a perfect mix of literary fiction and fantasy. Consider reaching out to her to say hello at awhite@marketenginuity.com.