Mayor Ashley Swearengin

Elected Mayor in 2008, Ashley Swearengin is a dynamic leader who focuses on building coalitions of experienced and capable experts to solve problems in honest and thoughtful ways. She has dedicated nearly her entire professional career to improving Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley.

Mayor Swearengin was born in Texas and raised in Arkansas. When she was in high school, her family relocated to Fresno – the city she has called home ever since. After high school, Mayor Swearengin earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in business administration, both from California State University, Fresno – graduating with honors. Her degrees initially led her to the field of marketing, where she served in leadership roles with several private sector firms.

In 2000, she accepted the position of Director of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State where she worked to improve the lives of Fresno families through workforce development strategies and educational initiatives.

Then, in 2002, Mayor Swearengin co-founded the Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI), a comprehensive, industry-focused effort aimed at attacking chronic unemployment in Fresno County. During her tenure as Chief Operations Officer for the RJI, job creation in the Fresno region was her main focus.

In 2005, Mayor Swearengin became lead executive for the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, a high-level working group established by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to address critical resource needs in our community. Through the Partnership, hundreds of community and business leaders, government officials, educators, policymakers and residents from all walks of life in the eight-county San Joaquin Valley and beyond are working together like never before to find and implement solutions that will improve the quality of life for all in the region. Governor Schwarzenegger recently appointed Mayor Swearengin as Deputy Chair of the Partnership's Board of Directors.

Mayor Swearengin’s past honors include being named Alumnus of the Year by Leadership Fresno and one of Fresno’s Top Business and Professional Women of the Year by the Marjaree Mason Center. Her husband, Paul, is General Manager and an on-air personality for a local sports radio station. The Swearengins have two children, Sydney and Samuel.