Ashleigh Baddour

From a young age Ashleigh Baddour was interested in all things pertaining to Ancient Egypt. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Arizona. It was there that she met the only working Egyptologist in her then home state of Arizona and joined The University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition (UAEE). The team worked on the West Bank of Luxor excavating the mortuary temple of the female pharaoh, Tausert. Since archaeology is done differently in Egypt and utilizes local workers for the actual excavating it was essential for Ashleigh to learn an additional skill. She attended post-degree college classes in order to learn how to map and survey archaeological sites in addition to taking classes in AutoCAD so she could work with the data collected from the field. Ashleigh would spend five seasons with the UAEE team, by her second season she earned the title of Assistant Director of Archaeological Mapping and Surveying. Her job was to operate a total station collecting data points relevant to the structure of the temple and any archaeological finds. From there she would enter the data points into AutoCAD which would later be used to draw a 3D replication of the temple as it once stood. She also assisted with the careful removal of mummified human remains found in tombs that had been created at the back of the temple. Her knowledge of deciphering hieroglyphic texts was also used when artifacts with hieroglyphs were found. During her time in the field she would earn her Master’s Degree in Egyptology from the University of Liverpool. Her dissertation explored the personal piety of New Kingdom non-royals as it was displayed in the architectural and decorative schematics of their tombs.

Upon the prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome for her daughter, Ashleigh left her work in Egypt to turn her focus towards her family. When her daughter was a year old she was invited to attend a photo shoot where Ashleigh met a parent using NACD with their child. Ashleigh joined NACD when her daughter was four and it was clear that something more was needed beyond the traditional therapies and programs at the local school. She was determined to help her daughter reach her highest potential. Ashleigh would later have two more children and all three kids are utilizing the NACD program with great success.

Ashleigh and her family moved to Camano Island in 2019 where they raise sheep, chickens and ducks. They have one livestock guardian dog that protects the animals outside, two indoor dogs and four cats in the barn. In her free time Ashleigh enjoys knitting, crocheting, weaving and processing the wool from her sheep into yarn. She is excited to join the NACD team and hopes to use that excitement to fuel another family’s journey with NACD and to help unlock their child’s full potential.