Dr. Ashley Rose Young is a food historian, curator, and storyteller who explores how what we eat reveals who we are. Her work dives into the intersections of race, culture, and community in American food—from street vendors to home kitchens to iconic regional dishes—and has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post.

She is the American History Curator in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress and a Smithsonian Research Associate. Previously, she spent over seven years with the Smithsonian’s Food History Project, where she brought history to life through exhibitions and live cooking programs, hosting more than 50 demonstrations alongside chefs like Carla Hall and Aarón Sánchez.

Her first book, Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans (Oxford University Press), uncovers the hidden systems and everyday people who shaped one of America’s most vibrant food cities.

She holds degrees from Yale and Duke.