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our vision
For young widows and ill or injured military couples to find lasting connection through rest and recreation retreats on the Emerald Coast.
we are working to build a beautiful home dedicated to our mission. A SPACE WHERE widows & military COUPLES CAN COME TO RETREAT FROM THE PRESSURES OF DAILY LIFE, SPEND TIME IN NATURE & LINK ARMS WITH OTHERS TO WALK OUT THE UNIQUE DIFFICULTIES presented by A LIFE ADAPTED BY DEATH, INJURY AND ILLNESS.
In the meantime, we know a lot of good can be done within the walls of existing spaces, and have been hosting several retreats each year, while working toward this ultimate goal.
Crowned for Ashes is an irs designated 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
your donations will go toward building a beautiful facility on the intercoastal waterway of florida's emerald coast where we can host wounded, ill & injured veterans with their spouses, as well as widows for faith-inspired respite retreats & will provide for their travel expenses & opportunities for recreation.
Or make checks payable to:
Crowned for ashes
PO Box 5466
Navarre, FL 32566
click here to donate
donate
the heart & story behind crowned for ashes
Ashley Cochrane is the Founder & Executive Director of Crowned for Ashes, a dream she formed along with her husband Chris in 2014. She spent 5 years as Chris’s caregiver following a series of medical issues arising from a 2013 deployment before his unexpected passing in 2018.
By trade, Ashley is a lifestyle and branding photographer—one of the many skills she hopes to bring to Crowned for Ashes. She received her B.S. in Hospitality Management with minors in Business Administration and International Human Studies from Auburn University. Ashley is also certified in Event Management.
As a military spouse, turned caregiver, turned widow, she believes that she can link arms with, and offer hope to couples and young widows in situations similar to her own. Ashley lives in Navarre, FL with Chris’s service dog (and her best friend), Fawkes.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
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Liz Feilner is an elementary teacher, specializing in 5th grade mathematics and the Treasurer for Crowned for Ashes. She received her B.S. in Communications with a minor in Business from Florida State University.
In February 2018 Liz’s father had an unfortunate, untimely passing and her mother became a widow. As a result, Liz has experienced what the Lord can do to restore and redeem while going through the various stages of grief.
Liz currently lives on Florida’s Emerald Coast with her husband and three daughters, where she is very active in her community. Because she lives with an autoimmune disease, she has a great understanding of and compassion for people struggling with illness.
She loves going to the beach, dancing in the kitchen, and traveling the world.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
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Kathleen Norwood works in philanthropy at the University of West Florida and is the Director of Development for Crowned for Ashes. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Mass Communications degree and recently graduated with her master's in Public Administration from the University of West Florida.
In 2018, 6 months after marrying her best friend Tyler, he passed away in an accident. She attended our first-ever Crowned for Ashes Retreat in the spring of 2019 and it was the first time she had ever been around other young widows. It was a defining moment in her grief and faith walk.
Kathleen lives in Pensacola with her 3 pups. She enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, being by the water, reading, laughing, being active and traveling to new places.
Kathleen is a firm believer in community and connections. She believes there is so much healing that happens when you link up and walk alongside those who have experienced similar tragedies.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." - Ecclesiastes 4:9
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Carly Woollard is the President of Crowned for Ashes, a ministry that significantly impacted her life, following the loss of her husband Austin in 2018 after a three-year battle with cancer. As a military spouse, caregiver, and widow, she knows how deeply this ministry can – and does – impact the lives of both military families and young widows.
Carly works as a data analyst for an aerospace company. She received her B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado, and her Master's Degree in Mathematical Biosciences from The Ohio State University. She remarried in 2020, an incredible man named Bryce, and they live near Boulder, Colorado with their two dogs. She spends her free time racing bicycles, skiing, and generally doing anything outside.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
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Jessica Simpson is the Director of Development for Crowned for Ashes and presently the Vice President of Membership & Operations at the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce. She has experience with non-profits in the fundraising and grant writing capacity that spans more than 15 years. She served as the Regional Associate Director for the American Cancer Society and the Executive Director of Health & Hope Clinic in Pensacola, Florida.
Jessica comes from a long line of military veterans and is the daughter of two former Navy sailors who served together on the USS Lexington. While she earned her degree from the University of West Florida, she is an avid Auburn fan. Her faith in Jesus Christ is the driving force that makes her love people fiercely, find an avenue to give back and refuse to conform to societal norms and pressure. Her goal is to leave people wondering what makes her so different, in hopes that she might have planted a small seed that God can use to grow a beautiful life. Jessica enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 young children, Milly and Sam.
Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
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Brooke Talley is the Director of our Widow's Ministry Songs in the Night. She currently works as a behavioral therapist at the Emerald Coast Autism Center and is dedicated to improving the lives of young children with Autism. Her entire career has been with non-profit organizations.
She received her B.S in Social Work from Auburn University and obtained a master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Brooke married her college sweetheart, Doug on New Year’s Eve 2005.
In 2017, just one year after their son, Hayes, was born, Doug went to Heaven. Brooke became a widow at the age of 34. She feels strongly that God is going to continue to use her life and Doug’s legacy to serve orphans and widows. She feels most alive when she is working in that capacity. Brooke enjoys playing with Hayes, spending time with her parents, going to the beach, journaling, listening to podcasts reading.
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
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Jaclyn Pritchett is the President of Crowned for Ashes and currently the Vice President of Human Resources Field Operations at Brookdale Senior Living. She has spent more than a decade serving in various HR/Organizational Development and operations positions within Corporate America. She was the recipient of the 2016 Nashville Emerging Leader award in the HR Category.
She also currently serves on the Board for New Frontiers, a non-profit that provides youth camps as well as residential care in a therapeutic environment for boys ages 11-18.
She received her B.A. in Psychology with minors in Business and Spanish from Auburn University. Jaclyn resides in Murfreesboro, TN with her husband, Daniel and their two children, Luke and Emma. In her personal time, Jaclyn enjoys the company of her family & friends, volunteering, gardening, painting, reading, hiking, traveling, and training for half marathons.
Romans 5:3-5 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
