Featured Leaders Series: Your Identity Is Not a Liability, It’s the Strategy: A Conversation with Ashley Clark

Posted in Blog, Featured Women Leaders Series, Featured Women Leaders Series, Featured Women Leaders Series
Apr 7, 2026

1400 words – 11 minute read

As part of International Women’s Month 2026 celebrations, Invest Ottawa teamed up with Naomi Haile of The Power of Why Podcast to produce this special Featured Leader Series celebrating women leading in Ottawa.  

Five inspirational leaders are selected each year to represent International Women’s Month (IWM). These featured leaders represent more than titles. They represent builders, connectors, and advocates, the people doing the often invisible work of strengthening our city’s foundation so businesses can grow. 

They are role models who significantly impact our economy, community and society and embody the spirit, goals and values of IWM.  

A profile image of Founder, Creative Director of Bougie Birch Ashley Clark. The logo for International Women's Month appears in the top right corner, while 'in conversation with Ashley Clark' appears at the bottom.What does it mean to build something that is meant to last longer than you? 

In a business landscape driven by speed, scale, and short-term wins, long-term thinking can feel almost countercultural. Founders are often encouraged to move fast, iterate quickly, and chase growth wherever it appears. But a different kind of leadership is emerging, one grounded in intention, responsibility, and the understanding that every decision creates a ripple beyond the present moment. 

In this episode of The Power of Why Podcast, Naomi Haile sits down with Ashley Clark, Mohawk entrepreneur, founder of Bougie Birch, and Indigenous relations advisor whose work sits at the intersection of business, culture, and systems change. With a background in international relations and a deeply systems-aware approach, Ashley is building a business rooted not just in growth, but in legacy, community, and regeneration. 

Her message is clear: if you want to build something meaningful, you need to think beyond yourself and beyond now. 

This conversation offers a powerful reframing of entrepreneurship, one that challenges urgency, centers relationships, and redefines what success can look like when it is built to last. 

“Being able to discover entrepreneurship was revolutionary for finding my path.” – Katonhetsheriio Ashley Clark 

This episode is for you if: 

  • You are building a business and want to keep your values at the center of your strategy
  • You are thinking about legacy and want to build something that outlasts you
  • You are navigating a pivot, recovery, or unexpected transition
  • You want a framework for long-term, mission-aligned decision making
  • You are curious about how Indigenous teachings can inform modern leadership
  • You want to protect your business from mission drift as it grows 

Listen to Your Identity Is Not a Liability, It’s the Strategy: A Conversation with Ashley Clark:

The Power of Why: A Conversation with Ashley Clark 

In this episode, Ashley Clark shares how her journey into entrepreneurship began not with a business plan, but with a moment of disruption, and how that disruption became the foundation for everything she is building today. 

After a workplace injury left her unable to work, Ashley began making dream catchers as a way to rebuild strength in her hands. What started as a healing practice quickly became something more. A small sale on Facebook sparked a realization: this could be a business. But more importantly, it could be a vehicle for something bigger.  

From the beginning, Ashley approached entrepreneurship differently. Rather than separating her identity from her work, she made it central. Her lived experience, cultural knowledge, and perspective were not things to be softened or set aside. They became the foundation of Bougie Birch. 

One of the most defining themes in this conversation is long-term thinking. Ashley draws on the Seven Generations Teaching, a principle that encourages decision-making with awareness of both the generations that came before and the generations that will come after. It is a perspective that fundamentally shifts how success is measured. 

Instead of asking, “What works right now?” the question becomes, “What will still matter decades from now?” 

This lens shows up in how Ashley builds. From the earliest stages, she has been reverse-engineering a 30-year vision for Bougie Birch. Every decision, partnership, and opportunity is evaluated against that long-term direction. If it does not align, it is not pursued. 

That clarity is what protects against one of the most common challenges founders face: mission drift. 

Ashley offers a simple but powerful framework. Have a clear mission. Make it visible. Compare every opportunity against it. If it does not align, it is not for you. 

The conversation also explores the role of Indigenous teachings in shaping business practices. The Seven Grandfather Teachings, values such as humility, respect, and love, are not abstract concepts. They are operational principles. 

Humility, for example, is not just a personal trait. It is a way of engaging with others. It means meeting people where they are, recognizing that no one knows everything, and creating space for shared learning. It also requires self-awareness from both the business and the customer, a mutual understanding of context, history, and responsibility. 

Another key theme is relational value. Ashley challenges the idea that businesses operate independently of people. Every product, service, and system ultimately comes down to human relationships. When those relationships are neglected, whether through poor leadership or high turnover, the cost is not just cultural. It is financial. 

Strong relationships are not a soft metric. They are foundational to sustainable business. 

Ashley also reframes how we think about economic systems more broadly. Rather than viewing business purely as a vehicle for profit, she describes Bougie Birch as a social engine, something designed to sustain itself while creating value for community, culture, and connection. 

This perspective becomes especially tangible in her vision for a physical Bougie Birch space. A brick-and-mortar third space in Ottawa, designed for experiential learning, cultural connection, and personal growth. A place where people can engage, create, and learn without pretense. 

It is not just about what the space will offer today. It is about what it will represent decades from now. 

The conversation ultimately challenges a deeply ingrained assumption: that faster is better. 

Ashley’s approach suggests something different. That clarity is more valuable than urgency. That alignment matters more than expansion. And that the most impactful businesses are not the ones that grow the fastest, but the ones that are built with intention from the start. 

You Are Not Separate From What You Build

A personal story of leadership by: Ashley Clark  

A deeply pivotal moment happened during a business Incubator program. I went in outlining my plans for Bougie Birch, focused on production, supply chains, and efficiency. It was structured. It made sense. It felt responsible. 

Then the conversation shifted. 

When I started talking about my identity and my lived and learned experiences, something changed. I felt more grounded. More certain. My mentor noticed it too. She paused and asked, “Why isn’t that the center of your business?” 

I realized I had been holding identity in one hand and business in the other. 

She challenged that. She reminded me that my personal experience and my spirit were not things to manage or soften. They were the value. 

That moment recalibrated my confidence. I stopped building around what felt safe and started building around what felt real. My workshops became more than crafts. They became shared, introspective experiences, spaces where people could create, reflect, and connect in ways that felt honest. 

Being seen that clearly shifted how I lead. Now I create spaces where others do not have to separate who they are from what they do. Where identity and impact can sit in the same hands. 

About Ashley 

Ashley Clark is a Mohawk entrepreneur, founder of Bougie Birch, and Indigenous relations advisor whose work sits at the intersection of business, culture, and systems change.  

Through Bougie Birch, Ashley creates immersive cultural experiences and workshops grounded in Indigenous knowledge and designed with clarity, care, and long-term impact in mind. Her work emphasizes clarity over urgency, long-term thinking, and the intentional creation of culturally safe third spaces where innovation, learning, and relationship-building can thrive.  

With an academic background in international relations, Ashley brings a systems-aware lens to entrepreneurship, leadership, and community development. She mentors early Indigenous startup entrepreneurs through the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation and is currently building toward a physical Bougie Birch space in Ottawa, on unceded Algonquin territory.  

Her leadership reflects a commitment to regenerative systems and building futures where economic growth and community wellbeing exist in relationship, not in tension 

Connect with Ashley 

Connect with Naomi 

Explore IWM 2026

 

Tags : Blog, Featured Women Leaders Series, Featured Women Leaders Series, Featured Women Leaders Series

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