Monique Ashton

Monique Ashton is mayor of the City of Rockville and is the first mayor of color in the city’s history. She is also president of the Montgomery Chapter of the Maryland Municipal League and District 5 vice president at the state level.

Ashton currently serves as liaison to the Cultural Arts Commission, Rockville Seniors, Inc., and Rockville Economic Development, Inc. She helped accelerate the city’s Climate Action Plan and previously served as liaison to the Environment Commission, Landlord-Tenant Affairs Commission, and Rockville Housing Enterprises, as well as the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Climate Energy and Environment Policy Committee.

Professionally, Ashton served as an executive vice president, bringing her business expertise to work for the city. In this executive role, she has helped launch biotech businesses, planned national award-winning health initiatives and advanced efforts to address disparities in health. Ashton has also worked to expand small business innovation research efforts at several National Institutes of Health institutes and centers.

Ashton is a civil servant who actively works to create inclusive economic opportunities for everyone in the Rockville community. She has expanded access to affordable and attainable housing, accelerated Rockville environment and climate action initiatives, supported greater Vision Zero public safety, greater small-business outreach and economic development, and advanced equity and inclusion efforts within the City of Rockville.

She has also fostered support for public servants who serve the city, leading an effort to develop the city’s first parental leave program and a soon-to-be-launched employee housing program. Ashton has been a strong advocate for critical projects to expand access to services for youth, seniors and unrepresented Rockville residents.

Ashton is a fiscally focused civil leader — she successfully negotiated with the county executive’s office and county council, culminating with the passage of the Expedited Bill 2-22, Montgomery County Municipal Revenue Program (Tax Duplication), which helped bring millions of dollars back to municipalities. In Fiscal Year 2025 and each year thereafter, this victory will bring over $8 million back to the City of Rockville.

She works collaboratively with leaders across the region at all levels of government and currently serves on the Board of the Council of Government and the Transportation Planning Board.

Prior to being on the council, Ashton was a Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations cluster coordinator representing seven schools in Rockville and has led and helped develop several local PTAs. She planned community program activities and helped successfully advocate for the development of the new Bayard Rustin Elementary School. She served on the boundary study and school-naming principal selection committees and worked closely with school administrators. Ashton led the effort to develop the city’s first Education Commission.

In her professional career, Ashton previously worked for the U.S. Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Office of Global Health Affairs, and CMD Region II. She is a graduate of New York University and George Washington University, where she was inducted into the Delta Omega Honor Society.

Ashton has a certificate in health care reform from the University of Western Cape, South Africa. She was honored to serve as a Presidential Management Fellow and received multiple awards for her work. Most recently she was recognized by the Daily Record’s Maryland Top 100 Women. She serves on the advisory board of the Maryland Women’s Business Center. Ashton has two children and is married to a partner who also focuses on living a purpose-driven life.