Ashley Killam (she/her) has built a multifaceted career as a passionate entrepreneur, non-profit director, freelancer, trumpet player, advocate, and researcher. Killam is the founder of AK Artist Management and is on a lifelong mission to create a more inclusive artistic space.

A champion for creating change within musical programming, Killam launched the first-ever open-source resource for trumpet and brass music by marginalized composers. Since the fall of 2019, she has presented in-person and virtually over 130 times, speaking at international events including the International Women’s Brass Conference, International Trumpet Guild Conference, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Institute, summer festivals, and university and high school music departments across the United States and Canada. These presentations have been delivered on topics ranging from building a library of inclusive repertoire to starting a non-profit, commissioning music, and creating a non-traditional career path.

Having found a love in all things organization, Killam created AK Artist Management as a way to use these outreach and marketing skills to build and promote the professional careers of musicians. Killam works with powerhouse composers, performers, and educators, understanding the goals and needs of every individual and group. Her expertise is within administrative work, ranging from performance tracking to coordinating tours, managing projects, and creating websites.

Killam’s spreadsheets and extensive knowledge of repertoire kickstarted Diversify the Stand, a Colorado-based non-profit focusing on commissioning accessible educational works by marginalized composers. An agent of change in the brass community, Killam serves as co-chair and founding member of the International Trumpet Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and as a member of the New Works Committee. She has served as a preliminary judge for the National Trumpet Competition and is a Board Member and Treasurer for Future in Music, a non-profit focused on education for high-school gender-marginalized brass players.

Killam currently resides in Glenarden, Maryland, with her husband and corgi. She holds a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Former instructors include Dr. John Marchiando, Charles Daval, Ron Romm, and Mark Thompson.