Coffee Chat with Amazon's Ashleigh de la Torre
By Adrienne Ameel, WTS-DC
WTS-DC hosted a coffee chat with Ashleigh de la Torre, Director of Public Policy at Amazon on March 16. De la Torre has a career in Washington, D.C. that spans over two decades. In her current role, she leads Amazon’s transportation and sustainability legislative and regulatory affairs team, supporting Amazon’s U.S. operations, logistics, and delivery businesses including drones, air cargo, surface transportation, multimodal, and last mile delivery.
Some of the topics covered in the conversation included Amazon’s recent FAA approval to conduct unmanned delivery of goods with its fleet of Prime Air drones, Amazon’s mission for net zero carbon by 2040, Amazon’s $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, Amazon’s Scout Robot, and de la Torre’s career path and advice.
She was interested in public policy from a young age and had a more traditional career path in D.C. from working on the Hill for a Kansas senator to working at the National Business Aviation Association and Airports Council International, North America. De la Torre discussed the importance of having strong mentors and explained how her mentors helped shape her career and life today. She also discussed the peculiar working environment at Amazon and how exciting and motivated she feels every day to work with a bright and interesting team. She even offered to provide mentorship for the group of women attending the event. A big thank you to de la Torre for agreeing to speak and support the WTS-DC chapter.