Mary is the recipient of the Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. Evelyn J. Barclay Fund Scholarship. After spending many years raising a family, Mary was drawn to the nursing field by some touching experiences she encountered as a patient. She was inspired by the dedication and empathy of the nurses who cared for her.

She received a Dutchess Community College Associate Degree in Nursing in 2006 in Poughkeepsie, New York. With an earlier bachelor’s degree in social science from the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, she was eligible to enter a bridge program and earn her master’s degree in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Pace University, Pleasantville, New York, in 2011.

Currently Ms Ashong works full time as a Nurse Practitioner at a correctional facility while attending the Pace University Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in Manhattan, New York, as a third year doctoral student. Her group research focuses on “The effectiveness of phosphate binders on mortality - phosphorus, calcium, and I-PTH in adults receiving hemodialysis.” She looks forward to implementing important protocols for her practice agency and hopefully for other hemodialysis facilities, in the use of phosphate binders for this complex population.

Mary has a passion for encouraging her patients to take ownership of their health by educating and advocating for them. She also enjoys teaching and mentoring other nurse practitioners and looks forward to giving back in this field.