From class valedictorian to homecoming queen to regular TV host and winning nine Emmy Awards, Ashley Mengwasser was always meant to be in the spotlight.
“I remember standing in front of the television as a little girl watching Atlanta’s Monica Pearson (formerly Kaufman) anchor the evening newscast,” Mengwasser said. “I heard my inner voice with utter clarity say, ‘I’ll do that someday,’ even as a youngster. Funnily, my path never deviated.
“Now, nearly 15 years in, I’m convinced I was destined to work in television and the media.”
As a Buford “lifetimer,” Mengwasser attended Buford City Schools from kindergarten through graduation before attending Agnes Scott College in Decatur, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in 2009. From there, she began her career at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta, where she hosted the popular series “Georgia Traveler.”
“For my very first segment, I went skydiving with my late grandma, Judith Thompson. Grandma Judy was a fixture at Buford’s Friday night football games when I used to cheer. For those who knew her or swam in her pool, you won’t be surprised to see in the video that she landed FAR more gracefully following her skydive, with the posture of a cherub. Oppositely, I flopped onto the ground with the composure and confidence of a disjointed lamb fleeing a predator,” Mengwasser joked. “But hey, I survived the dive! That was the beginning of my TV career. Since, I’ve been so privileged to produce and host engaging, educational programming alongside beloved colleagues. This year, I earned my ninth Emmy, and it was a special moment.”
In 2016, Mengwasser decided to pursue her media dreams independently as an entrepreneur producer and host for hire. She has hosted everything from pet travel shows to DIY and home improvement pilots. She’s traveled to China twice to film and write a documentary about tea. She also went to QVC headquarters in Pennsylvania to audition for a position as a home shopping host during a host search in 2019, where she made the top 19 out of 10,000 American hosts.
“Lately, my career has led me to hosting opportunities connected to Georgia’s education system. Currently, I host the Georgia Department of Education and GPB’s podcast series ‘Classroom Conversations,’ which features noteworthy Georgia educators and their instructional strategies,” Mengwasser said. “I also created the GPB Education digital romp ‘Tiny Mic, Big Designs,’ a series of interviews with (hilarious and brilliant) K-12 student inventors competing in Georgia Tech’s K12 invention competition. Every March, live on GPB, I co-host Georgia Tech’s collegiate invention finals in a Shark Tank-style show called ‘The InVenture Prize.’”
Mengwasser has also become a regular gala and fundraising host for nonprofits that raise funds to support missions that serve women and children. Additionally, she enjoys officiating weddings and has recently become an event emcee for bar and bat mitzvahs with a local production company.
Despite all her show business accolades, Mengwasser still bleeds green and gold for the Buford Wolves.
In high school, Mengwasser was a self-proclaimed “brainiac” who loved school. Voted Most Intellectual and Classiest in her senior superlatives, as well as being recognized as Star Student, she was a varsity cheerleader who prioritized academics as the 2005 valedictorian. She was also heavily involved in Bel Canto Chorale, Gwinnett Student Leadership Team and musical theater, where she played Sister Amnesia in “Nunsense,” the Baker’s Wife in “Into the Woods” and Frenchie in “Grease,” all under long-time theater teacher Kim Staples.
“From that dazzling Fine Arts Center stage as a teenager, I desired a public facing career. Now I host on stages in large theaters, and I feel that familiar rush,” Mengwasser said. “It’s akin to coming home to Buford, each time.”
Reflecting on her high school achievements, she credits her English teacher, Tim Harris, with much of her success as an adult.
“Honors English and AP English with Tim Harris were my favorite classes. A class with Tim nurtured so much personal and academic growth. He had an uncanny ability to unite and engage students in learning,” Mengwasser said. “His style of teaching was life-changing, and his infectious personality was irresistible. He is able to reach students’ hearts and minds in a profound and unusual way.”
Without Harris’s influence, Mengwasser might have never been inspired to pursue her talents as a writer and producer.
“It was through my English coursework with Tim that I decided to declare an English major in college,” she added. “I knew, thanks to him, that I should choose a writing-based career. It felt natural to me. And he developed that innate ability further.”
In her free time, Mengwasser loves to spend time with her 2-year-old basset hound, Starla, and attends Woodstock City Church. She loves reading and intermittently hosts a book club that is inspired by a photo of rapper 50 Cent reading, and participants call their small group the “You Can Find Me in Da (Book) Club.” In addition, she also enjoys her time as a homeowner and keeping house. A true type A personality, Mengwasser is proud that her house looks like a model home.
“I call myself a mighty tidier, strategic sorter and energy entrepreneur,” she said. “My vacuuming game is so strong, I live for carpet lines. And I don’t allow myself to buy or keep anything I don’t use.”
This November, Mengwasser will be back in Buford to serve as a judge at the Buford Middle School pageant. She also enjoys coming back to contribute her professional skill set at State Literary Meets, when hosted at Buford.
“Both my learning journey as a K-12 student in Buford City Schools and my maturation as a young member of the Buford community shaped my personality and my professional standards. I choose clients who are affable and inclusive, in the Buford Spirit,” Mengwasser said. “As an executive producer and host, I treat my audiences like friends and my coworkers like family. Warmth and authenticity have been my secret to success, and I have Buford to thank for prizing these qualities in my younger self.”
FEATURED PHOTO: Ashley Mengwasser hosts the live televised invention competition “The InVenture Prize” at Georgia Tech at Ferst Center for the Arts in Midtown Atlanta. Photo courtesy of Ashley Mengwasser.
