Staff Spotlight: Ariel Alston, Assistant Director of Disability Services and Student Care & Support, joins the Georgia Education Policy Fellowship Cohort
(September 29, 2025) - Ariel Alston, Assistant Director of Disability Services and Student Care & Support at Clayton State University, has been accepted into the 18th cohort of the Georgia Education Policy Fellowship. This group will participate in a 10-month learning experience exploring Georgia’s education policy landscape, beginning in August 2025 and concluding in May 2026.
The Georgia Education Policy Fellowship is a professional development program sponsored by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, equipping leaders with the knowledge and networks to advance key issues in education policy.
Being selected for this cohort marks another milestone in Alston’s ongoing commitment to her education, professional development, and career development. She graduated from the University of West Georgia with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Afterward, she attended graduate school at the University of Georgia, earning a master's degree in social work.
“While I was in the midst of earning my master's degree, I was also a CASA, which is a court-appointed special advocate working with foster children,” said Alston. “That led me to wanting to learn more about education policy, the laws that surround higher Ed access and barriers, as well as K through 12 access and barriers, specifically for foster youth.”
Before joining Clayton State, Alston worked for a nonprofit organization, Year Up, which was stationed on the campus of Atlanta Metropolitan State College. It was there that she connected with Doctor Dorothy Williams, who works in the counseling center and serves as the director of disability services at Atlanta Metro. Alston said, “Dr. Dorothy exposed me to the world of Disability Services, and I ultimately became interested in how I could better serve my Year Up students who were facing academic difficulties due to their diagnoses or disabilities. During my time at Year Up, my team was also over our basic needs center. This experience eventually led me to apply for the position here at Clayton State as it was a mix of both of my previous roles at Year Up.”
“In my role at Clayton State, I am engaging with students with disabilities, conducting intake appointments in order to provide students with accommodations, working on events centered around Disability Services, and developing partnerships to create more visibility around our Disability Services office.” Alston added that “I enjoy working on Student Care & Support projects that support students, including our pantry, our clothing closet, and the care center in general. My goal is to build those programs up and create more access for students.”
“In September, I attended the Georgia Education Policy Fellowship retreat with all 24 fellows. We were given a book to read called The Leadership Challenge, authored by James Kouzes and Barry Posner,” said Alston. “Our retreat was mainly focused on how we are showing up as leaders in our current position, any leadership challenges that we are currently facing in our roles, and how to address and move past those,” she added.
Alston explained what she has taken away from her experience since joining the cohort with Georgia Education Policy Fellowship, she said, “So far, just within the last month, I have gained so much insight into how I can implement leadership skills within my day-to-day duties in my current role here at Clayton State. I am fortunate to be surrounded by other like-minded individuals during this fellowship that are also focused on improving our education system here in Georgia.”
Alston also shared, “I think that there are going to be a lot of things that I will be able to bring back to Clayton State simply from the connections that I garner from networking during this fellowship. This fellowship has already been such a big opportunity for me to explore the issues of our education system and connect with others from various backgrounds as we explore our wide array of perspectives on past and present education issues.”