We recently had the chance to connect with Ashla Glass and have shared our conversation below.
Ashla, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Am I walking a path or wandering? Honestly, I’m doing both.
As a first-generation business owner and nonprofit founder, I’m walking with purpose, guided by my mission to serve and uplift others. But I’m also wandering—learning, adjusting, and discovering new parts of myself and my calling along the way. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have vision, faith, and resilience. Every step, whether certain or uncertain, is part of the path I’m creating for myself and others.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Ashla Glass, and I’m the founder of Glass House Foundation, a nonprofit based in Houston dedicated to inspiring and empowering men to lead their families. I’m the product of a home affected by addiction—my father chose drugs and alcohol over family, which deeply impacted me and my two older brothers, despite being raised by a loving, faith-filled mother. I became a teenage mother and battled addiction myself, but my life changed when I married a man who helped me recover. He showed me and my daughter what real love, leadership, and fatherhood look like.
After earning two associate degrees, a real estate license, and mentoring girls through my foster home for six years, my journey took another turn when my husband passed away suddenly in 2018 from an aneurysm. I launched Glass House Foundation to honor his legacy and to help break generational cycles by pouring into men the same way he poured into us. What makes this work special is that it’s personal—I’m living proof that healing is possible, and I believe that strong men build strong families. That’s the heart behind everything I do.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What breaks the bonds between people is pain, pride, and a lack of understanding.
Addiction, abandonment, betrayal—these things create distance, build walls, and damage trust. I’ve seen how unhealed wounds, silence, and generational cycles can tear families apart, even when love is present.
What restores those bonds is truth, forgiveness, and intentional effort.
Healing begins when we face our pain, speak honestly, and choose compassion. For me, recovery, faith, and the example of a loving husband helped rebuild what was broken. Now through the work of Glass House Foundation, I help men reconnect with their role, their families, and themselves. Restoration takes work, but it’s possible—one conversation, one act of love, one decision at a time.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me things success never could—like humility, compassion, resilience, and faith.
It taught me how to survive when I had nothing but God and grit. It showed me who I was when everything else was stripped away. Through addiction, grief, and loss, I learned how to fight for my healing and how to love others through theirs.
Success can celebrate you, but suffering shapes you. And it gave me the strength, vision, and purpose to build something that helps others heal too.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to the lifelong work of transformation—helping others rise into the best version of themselves.
I believe in second chances because I’m living proof of what’s possible when someone takes the time to care, guide, and believe in you. It’s my duty to pay it forward. Whether it takes months or years, I’m committed to walking with people through their process, especially men, so they can become the leaders, fathers, and healers their families and communities need. Real change takes time—but it’s always worth it.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I lived with purpose, loved without judgment, and lifted others when they couldn’t stand on their own.
That I turned my pain into purpose and used my story to help others rewrite theirs. That I poured into people—especially men—so they could heal, lead, and break cycles for the next generation. I hope they say I didn’t just talk about change, I was the change. That I left behind more hope, more love, and more light than I found.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/share/16uibWMjvK/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16uibWMjvK/
