Dr. Bob Ashby is a native of Danville who grew up in Schoolfield, Virginia. Board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Dr. Ashby is licensed in both Virginia and North Carolina, though he has practiced psychiatry in Danville since l971. He currently serves as Medical Director of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services at Danville Regional Medical Center and as Medical Director of the Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute.
Dr. Ashby joined the Danville Regional Medical Center’s board as President of the Medical Staff in l988 and was elected chairman of the Danville Regional Health System in 2005. He is currently chairing the Danville Regional Foundation Board, which oversees $200 million to be used for the benefit of the Danville Region. Dr. Ashby is also a member of the board of the Future of the Piedmont Foundation, and has served on the boards of the United Way, Averett University, and Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church.
Dr. Ashby was the first chairman of the Danville Community College Educational Foundation, a member of the board of trustees for the University of Virginia Medical School Foundation, and the Kiwanis Citizen of the Year in 2001. In 1995, he was inducted into the Raven Society as an Outstanding University of Virginia Alumnus, and he was selected as an Outstanding Medical Alumnus of the School of Medicine in 2002. Additionally, the American Psychiatric Association honored him as a Distinguished Life Fellow.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia, Dr. Ashby graduated from UVA’s School of Medicine. He completed a medical internship at the Medical College of South Carolina before returning to the University of Virginia Hospital for residency training in psychiatry.
Dr. Ashby and his wife, Mary Frances, live in Danville and have four children.