About the Evergreen Digital Wellness Practice
Long before I had language for any of this, before "attention economy" or "digital wellness" were terms I used professionally, I noticed it happening to me directly.
During my dissertation, which is about as much fun as it sounds, I moved Instagram to a different spot on my phone because I noticed I was opening it far too often. Hours later, mid-work, my thumb went straight to where the app used to be. I hadn't consciously decided to check it, and I hadn't even realized I had picked up my phone, my hand just knew the motion. This wasn't a habit I was choosing, it was one that had been built into me without my noticing, and it eventually got bad enough that I deleted the app off my phone to finish my dissertation. That's the moment my research into the attention economy stopped being purely academic and became personal.
Years earlier, in a very different context, I'd already seen the flip side of that same idea. As a volleyball coach, we didn't allow our players to have their phones during tournaments -- partly to keep them focused, and partly, so a mid-tournament breakup text or some conflict wouldn't derail an entire weekend. My players hated it at first. But without fail, it became one of their favorite parts of the experience, the version of themselves and their teammates they got to be without a phone in hand.
Those two moments, one from research and one from coaching, are the real foundation of the Evergreen Digital Wellness Practice.
The name means something specific to me. Evergreens don't change color with the seasons or lose their needles when things get hard -- they stay green and grounded, all year round, in every kind of weather. That's exactly what I want this work to be, not a quick detox or a passing trend, but something sustainable enough to hold up in the conditions of life (deadlines, notifications, hard seasons and easy ones alike). This work is about noticing what's actually running the show, and building something that stays steady regardless of the season you're in, not about willpower in guilt.
About the Founder
Dr. Ashley Hass brings a valuable combination of academic research and real-world facilitation experience to the digital wellness space. Her work is grounded in the belief that digital wellness is a pillar of resilience and is a skill people can and now need to practice and develop. Evergreen's approach reflects that belief, where every workshop, keynote, and resource is rooted in published research and designed to give people practical, lasting tools for navigating the complexities of a constantly connected world.
Ph.D. in Marketing
Dr. Hass's research centers on the attention economy, digital and social media wellness, and social media marketer burnout. Her work is grounded in peer-reviewed publications along with industry commentary. Her research has been cited over 500 times to date, reflecting a body of work that's actively shaping how scholars and practitioners think about attention and technology.
Certified Digital Wellness Educator & Lego® Serious Play® Facilitator
Beyond academic research, Dr. Hass holds professional certifications specifically for translating research into practice. She is a certified Digital Wellness Educator focused on behavior-change frameworks and holds a Lego® Serious Play® facilitation certification, which is a hands-on methodology used to help teams think through complex problems together.
Applied Behavior-Change Experience
Beyond her research, Dr. Hass brings hands-on experience translating behavior-change principles into real practice from years of coaching competitive volleyball at the collegiate level, to facilitating workshops ranging from an auditorium of 100 high school students to small, intimate team settings. That range, large-scale and one-on-one, students and professionals, continues to shape how she designs every session Evergreen delivers.