Ashley being pinned by her mother, Barb.
About
You Can, Too was founded in 2017 by Ashley Covarrubias. Ashley currently serves as a police officer with the Tucson Police Department (a lifelong dream realized).
Ashley founded You Can, Too after witnessing troubling trends around the country. On July 7, 2016, five police officers were gunned down in Dallas, Texas. On the next Sunday, three more were executed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These events were bookends to her first week in the police academy, which solidified her determination to succeed. After completing 24 weeks of academy training and 15 weeks in field training, she wanted to do more and try to make a difference. After she was tagged in a seemingly unrelated video about sharks, the idea for You Can, Too began to take form. Read more on our Inspiration page.
Tucson police YCT officers
Officer Ashley
Ashley Covarrubias is a Tucson-born, Illinois-raised Wildcat who is unwaveringly committed to making the Tucson community a better place to live and work. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration in 2009 and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration in 2010 from the University of Arizona. After graduation, she spent five years working on a private contract with the United States Border Patrol on the Southwest Border Initiative & also began teaching as an adjunct instructor with the University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy. In August 2014, she decided to continue her education and began a doctoral program in Public Policy and Management, focusing her research on dark networks and terrorism & ethics and criminal justice. In 2016, Ashley decided to take a leave of absence from her PhD and purse her life-long dream of becoming a Tucson Police Officer in order to truly serve her community at a line-level.
In her free time, Ashley volunteers as a Big Sister for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters “Bigs in Blue” program. She enjoys traveling abroad, spending time with family and friends, and loving on her 97-pound rescue dog, Wrigley.
Officer Barton
Officer J. Barton was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona. He moved to Tucson, Arizona in 2007 to study Traditional Black and White Photography and Graphic Design at the University of Arizona. After finishing school at the U of A he became a licensed insurance agent working for GEICO. Officer Barton left GEICO after a few years to begin training at the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center in January of 2017. He has been a sworn Peace Officer in the State of Arizona for just over a year and has been employed by the Tucson Police Department assigned to Operations Division West. Outside of work Officer Barton enjoys spending time with his wife and two dogs as well as working out and photography.
Officers Barton and Ashley with the YCT table at the “Thrive in the 05” 2018 Fall Festival.
yankton police yct officers
Corporal Brad Parker
Corporal Brad Parker was born and raised in Norfolk, Nebraska. He moved to Yankton, South Dakota in 1983 with his wife and became small business owners. Corporal Parker remained in Yankton where he and his wife raised their family. In 1998 Corporal Parker fulfilled his lifelong dream and became a Police Officer with the Yankton Police Department. Corporal Parker has been a certified Police Officer for the State of South Dakota for over twenty years. During that time he has been involved with many aspects of the YPD. He is currently a team leader on the departments Special Response Team, he is the coordinator for the Safety City program for young children and sits on several committees within the city. In August of 2018 Corporal Parker accepted the position of Community Service Officer, which involves working with and on the departments community projects. When not working Corporal Parker enjoys spending time with his four grandsons, camping, and riding ATV’s with his wife Janis.
School Resource Officer Preston Crissey
Officer Crissey was born and raised in the small town of Beresford, South Dakota. Following high school, Officer Crissey received his associate degree from Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls, SD, which allowed him to land a paid summer internship with the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks as a law enforcement officer. When his internship ended, Officer Crissey landed a full-time Deputy Sheriff position with the Aurora County Sheriff's Office and would later move to the Bon Homme County Sheriff's Office. Officer Crissey then married his beautiful wife Kimberly and would later have two wonderful children named Berkley and Lincoln. Officer Crissey then did what most men do, which is move closer to their mother in law in his wife's hometown of Yankton, SD. Officer Crissey then made the transition to the Yankton Police Department where he still currently serves as the school resource officer. Officer Crissey has 10 years of law enforcement experience and is a certified instructor in Taser, Radar, Lidar, Narcan, C.P.T.E.D., D.A.R.E. and A.L.I.C.E. Officer Crissey is excited for the opportunity to start instructing the new "You Can, Too" curriculum to the Yankton community!
Sergeant Samantha Bruening
Samantha Bruening was born and raised in Dell Rapids, SD. She moved to Yankton in 2010 to study Criminal Justice at Mount Marty College. After finishing school at Mount Marty she started her career as a correctional officer with the Yankton County Jail. Officer Bruening was later promoted to a jail corporal. Officer Bruening left the Yankton County Jail in 2015 and started her career with the Yankton Police Department as a police officer.
Outside of work Officer Bruening enjoys spending time with her husband. Officer Bruening also enjoys doing most things outdoors including hunting/fishing, boating, and camping.
Yankton Police Chief Harris, Corporal Parker, and Officers Bruening and Crissey meet with Executive Director Klimek of the Boys and Girls Club of Yankton in April 2019.