Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Environment, Duke University, 2013
  • B.A., Biochemistry, University of San Diego, 2008
Licenses & Certifications
  • Integrated Toxicology & Environmental Health Program Certificate (ITEHP)
Professional Honors
  • Student Travel Award, International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials, Banff, AB, CA (2012)
  • Student Platform Presentation Award, 3rd place, International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials, Clemson, SC (2010)
  • Student Travel Award, International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials, Clemson, SC (2010)
  • SETAC Student Travel Award, SETAC North America Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2009)
  • The Explorer’s Club Exploration Fund Grant ($3000): “Impact of oil-derived pollutants on marine ecosystems surrounding shipwrecks off the U.S. East Coast.” (2009)
  • Outstanding Research Award, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA (2008)
Professional Affiliations
  • Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), member since 2008
  • Southern California Chapter of SETAC, member since 2016, Board member 2019-2021
  • American Chemical Society (ACS), member since 2011
  • American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (ABA SEER), member since 2022

Dr. Ashley Parks has a background in environmental chemistry and toxicology, including the environmental fate and effects of products, chemicals, waste, and facility discharges; evaluating contaminants in sediment, groundwater, and surface waters; monitoring water system quality and tracking usage/volume balance; and assessing potential contaminant uptake and bioavailability/bioaccumulation in organisms.  

Dr. Parks has planned and executed local and regional water quality monitoring programs and field sampling events involving both sediment and water collection for organic and inorganic contaminant analysis. She has worked with local, state, and federal agencies to assist clients with wastewater, stormwater, and hazardous waste permit applications and compliance. Dr. Parks has experience helping clients better understand water quality and permitting issues, including those related to stormwater and industrial operations as well as the potential effects of chemicals used in product manufacturing during use and following disposal. She also assists clients by performing proactive facility and documentation audits to ensure proper operation, maintenance, and record keeping.

Before joining Exponent, Dr. Parks was a Scientist at Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) in Costa Mesa, CA where she worked on several projects including a copper site-specific objective study using the water effect ratio (WER) method and biotic ligand model (BLM), and studies evaluating potential impacts of ocean acidification, hypoxia, and warming conditions on benthic and aquatic marine organisms. Dr. Parks also led an intercalibration study for more than ten toxicity testing laboratories and conducted sediment and water column toxicity tests using standard methods, including Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) methods.

During her graduate studies and her time as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associate at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Dr. Parks investigated the toxicity, bioaccumulation, biodegradability, and trophic transfer potential of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in estuarine systems, and evaluated the concentration, form, and toxicity of copper leached from various types of pressure-treated lumber, including micronized and nano-copper azole (MCA), alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ), and chromated copper arsenate (CCA).