Jean Kinn Ashen

Jean Ashen’s prolific career as an athlete and athletic administrator began in 1972 and spanned over five decades at North Salinas High School. When Title 9 became law in 1972 she was a freshman and benefited directly from the opportunities it provided females athletes. She was a 3-sport athlete for the Vikings, excelling at basketball.  She became the first girl basketball player in Salinas Valley history to join a Division I collegiate team, signing with Cal-State Fullerton in 1976. She led the team in rebounds her sophomore season and her school record single-game high of 23 was still standing through the 2022-23 season. She completed her college career at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas then went on become an assistant basketball coach for eight years at the University of California-Irvine. She returned to North Salinas in 1992 and eventually became the first women in school history to become the boy’s athletic director. In 2016 she became first AD in California history to be awarded the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrator Association Award of Merit, the most prestigious award given to an athletic director in the nation.