If Ashley’s not running around with clients or at the office, odds are she is at a hockey rink somewhere supporting one of her two sons. Hockey has been a major part of her life since she met her husband back in 1999 while he was playing for the New York Rangers.

Friends and family know Ashley to be diligent and competitive about her work—and clients know her to be thoughtful and conscientious, too.

“Some people have never done anything like this before, so I see it as my responsibility to educate buyers throughout the process and be totally transparent and honest about everything that comes our way,” she said.

These instincts—to be a good teammate and a protector—come naturally to Ashley.

After growing up in Braintree, Ashley began building her roots in Hingham attending Notre Dame Academy.  She then went on to attend Salve Regina University where she played varsity women’s basketball for her four years there. She grew up thinking she wanted to be in the FBI and earned her masters in Administration of Justice, and even spent summers as a lifeguard on the Cape. Of course in these activities and interests, she was cultivating a skillset that makes her the realtor she is today.

Still, after living in Europe for 5 years with her husband, Rich Brennan, who played professional hockey, having two children, and buying their own house on the Cape back in 1999, real estate wasn’t the obvious answer.

“I sat down with a headhunter who said to me: ‘If you like contracts and people and law, and you need flexibility with your family, you should look into real estate.’”

From the outside looking in, it was an aha moment.

“It’s just the most interesting job, there's never any monotony and nothing is black and white,” Ashley said. “Working through tough situations is exciting to me, and now I get to do that every day.”

Her favorite part of the process—the negotiation—comes as no surprise to people who know Ashley. But her greatest strength doesn’t take place at the negotiating table. It doesn’t occur in any one place in particular, really. It’s the phone calls, the texts, the showings, the open houses—all of the building blocks in strong realtor-client relationships that Ashley attentively lays—make her a fan favorite on the South Shore.

“I pride myself in being a good connector, in building relationships that outlast any one transaction,” Ashley said. “My clients know that if they need anything at all, I’m with them for the long haul.”

This attention to her relationships has paved the way for a business run largely on referrals for Ashley.

And her clients, whether they’re new or working with Ashley again, know that they can expect an agent who’s attentive, competitive, and protective.

“I tell my clients right off the bat that they can reach out to me anytime. Time is often very much of the essence in real estate, and so it’s important to me that I’m available to them.”

In addition to her people skills, she’s earned her Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designation and is on track to earning her broker’s license. Her work has earned acclaim with clients and within Sotheby’s as well. Once, after taking on a property that had been on the market for a year, Ashley turned the situation around to sell the property.

“It was a grind, but in the end, the seller was so satisfied that he wrote a letter to one of the Gibson Sotheby's owners.

He wrote: “She constantly went above and beyond the call of duty. Living out of state and trying to sell a home is not an easy task yet Ashley Brennan made it so. You are fortunate to have her on your team”

Her drive, her ability to connect, and her roots in her community have earned Ashley her reputation for being a strong teammate no matter the arena.

With two boys who went through school in Hingham, playing baseball, hockey, and more, Ashley and her husband are pillars in their community. Co-chairing golf tournaments, attending local sports games, and participating in charity events (Hingham Hockey, Friendship Home and the Boston Bruins alumni to name a  few) in the end when we talk about charities, the couple has made their mark on their community—one that’s solidified with Ashley’s impressive impact on the South Shore real estate scene.