Ashley Bland Manlove

Ashley Bland Manlove, 34, represents Jackson County (District 26) in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected to her first two-year term in November 2018.

Prior to serving in the legislature, Manlove worked in the accounting industry, public and private sector. She also served as an intelligence analyst for the Missouri National Guard. She was recognized in 2013 with the Army Achievement Medal for outstanding service as an intelligence analyst.

Manlove is dedicated to addressing the critical issues that are creating crises in her district. She is focused on the criminal justice system and has place a priority focus on the education of young people in the urban core with an eye on the school funding formula and job development.

Manlove attends St. James United Methodist Church and is a member of the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

She attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., and Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, where she received an associate in Liberal Arts. She is currently working toward a degree in Accounting.

Manlove was born and raised in urban Kansas City. She has two relatives that served in the state legislature. Her uncle is former state Rep. Craig Bland, and her grandmother is former House member and state Sen. Mary Groves Bland.