Born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Ashley Castellanos always loved food and travel. To the point that she left the U.S. in 2014 to teach English and to see and explore the world as much as possible. She moved to 6 countries: Spain, Turkey, Vietnam, Argentine, England, and Indonesia in a span of 5 years and has traveled to 25 countries and counting.

While living in Hanoi, Vietnam, Ashley made the decision to become vegan for health reasons and continued to travel and live abroad but through a vegan lense.

Upon returning to Portland, Oregon in 2019, Ashley was “traveling through food” in the city of Portland and would document it on social media. So much so, that a friend suggested to start a food Instagram page. Vegan Ventures was born in 2020 and since then, the platform has become a trusted resource for the best vegan eats and experiences. Vegan Ventures became more than just sharing a food photo, it became sharing about the people, the culture, and the community through a vegan lense.

Ashley uses her experience from past professional marketing roles as well as working as branding photographer and in video production to create engaging content that has allowed Vegan Ventures to expand to multiple social media platforms. This also lead to the launch of the official Vegan Ventures website in 2022.

Vegan Ventures partners with businesses to promote exciting news, share stories and create community through social media and digital marketing. Now, Vegan Ventures also hosts partnered events and group trips to create experiences for people to connect, especially through food. This is where foodies and travelers meet.