Mary Elise Cadera (CPA) has spent the last 10 years of toiling as a financial manager for a variety of locally-grown companies. From taxes to treasury, internal control to budgeting, her work has taken her all over the accounting spectrum. To stay sane, she heads to the mountains as often as possible to ride her snowboard. She digs music and visual art, and enjoys checking out shows around town - particularly if they showcase local talent.
Will Canine is the youngest member of the board and, after getting his start a Summer Fellow, strives to be Hella Bus to the core. He got into politics when he left home in the San Francisco Bay Area at fourteen, and his activism hasn’t stopped since. Besides campus and community projects, Will has staffed campaigns in Iowa and Idaho. When it’s not time for politics, Will loves playing lacrosse, dance music, and with his two kitties Baller and Roosevelt.
Randy Engstrom has been a passionate advocate and organizer for arts and community development for over 10 years. He is the Founding Director of the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, a space that offers youth and community members access to arts, technology, and cultural resources. Randy also vice-chairs the Seattle Arts Commission, and is the chair of the Facilities and Economic Development Committee. Randy spent 3 years as the Founding CEO of Static Factory Media, an artist development organization. In 2009 Randy received the Emerging Leader Award from Americans for the Arts and was one of Puget Sound Business Journal's 40 Under 40.
Kasi Farrar is starting her second year on the Bus board in 2010. She has *the coolest job in the world* as a union organizer for UFCW 21, and would love to see more young people engaged in her community. She enjoys long walks on the beach, learning how to play the guitar, dancing (salsa and b-girling), painting and sewing. She got on the Bus after running into staff, board members, and volunteers from the Bus everywhere she went, and decided to find out what this group of young people (with cool stickers and an abundance of voter registration forms) was all about… and hasn’t looked back since.
Hailing from Battle Ground, Noel Frame wears her rural roots as a badge of honor. She currently serves as the Washington State Director of Progressive Majority. Noel announced her run for the White House in the second grade and hasn’t been able to stay away from politics since. She went to college and grad school in Washington, DC, served as a legislative staffer in the U.S. Senate and campaigned for two presidential candidates, a congressman and a ballot initiative. Noel is an amateur photographer and is obsessed with IMDB. She exhibits scary organizational skills, and in her spare time likes to make to-do lists.
Zanne Garland is currently the Individual Giving Manager at Solid Ground raising money to prevent homelessness, end hunger, and to build affordable housing. She is also on the steering committee of the Anti-Racism Initiative at Solid Ground. She met her fiancé while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2006. She loves Dolly Parton and likes to keep her time spent in a sorority and driving an SUV while living in North Carolina a secret to the progressive movement in the Northwest. Oops!
Kate Guenther is a Garfield high school senior (Go Bulldawgs!) who got involved in social justice issues when her dad said "If you're going to have big opinions you better do something about them.” Taking this to heart, Kate interned at Statewide Poverty Action Network and for the Obama Campaign, served as a member of the Seattle Art Museums’ Teen Advisory Group, and started an after-school art program at Concord Elementar. The Bus is where she’s been the longest, joining the board an ex-officio member as a sophomore. Kate is taking her mad Wii and foosball skills to New York University next fall, but her heart will stay on the Bus!
Sarah Jaynes directs the Progress Alliance, an entrepreneurial group of donors pooling their money to build a more effective, coordinated progressive movement in Washington. Sarah was trained with Green Corps, and believes that organizing is the noblest of pursuits. She spent the last 17 years campaigning for a healthy environment and good jobs, and is passionate about well-executed field plans and stopping global warming. She loves the mountains, evenings on the soccer field with her boys, biking in the rain, and growing too many vegetables in the summer.
Josh Johnston is one of the co-founders and current President of the Washington Bus. Josh cut his teeth while running campaigns for the likes of Representative Brian Blake, Congressman Brian Baird and Gov. Howard Dean. He finally broke off the campaign trail, and has worked for Congressman Norm Dicks and King County Councilmember Julia Patterson. Josh is currently in graduate school at the Evans School of Public Affairs getting his executive Masters in Public Administration. In between classes and homework assignments he is training for a half marathon with his wife, wikipedia-ing everything, and watching Entourage.
EJ Juarez is a Field Organizer for Central Washington Progress in Yakima where he works to elevate underrepresented communities to positions of power and engage young people through innovative campaigns. EJ was introduced to the Bus in 2008 as a campaign manager who thought he won the political equivalent to the Lotto when the Bus supported his candidate. It was Bus love at first knock! When not at work, you may find EJ living the dream through DJ Hero, catching a basketball game or indulging in his guilty pleasure: tracking the British music chart battles.
There are three things Benjamin Lawver would like you to know about himself. First, he once saved a crowd-surfing damsel in distress from serious injury at a White Zombie concert. Second, he almost got kicked out of a George Bush Sr. rally in his hometown of Colville, WA and has since turned to working for political candidates across the country, training other young wanna-be-politicos. Finally, Benjamin is currently the Political Director for the Washington State Labor Council, where he fights for the middle class by electing folks who support working family ideals. Also, his favorite type of apple is the Honeycrisp, and he currently resides in Tacoma with his wife Sara and dog Bailey.
Kristina Logsdon first developed her organizing skills working as a field organizer with the Washington Toxics Coalition, where she became acutely aware of the inequities between communities and elected officials. As Racial Justice Campaign Coordinator for Progressive Majority, Kristina recruited and trained progressive candidates of color for public office. Under her tenure she helped to elect Washington State’s first Samoan-American elected official. Kristina is now Political Director with the Win/Win Network where she manages the Ballot Initiative Network and works to empower underserved communities in Central Washington. In her spare time, she hikes, quilts, knits, and plays Rock Band.
Mollie McDirmid is the Bus' amazing Finance Committee Chair. She has worked in corporate finance for 5 years and currently work on mergers & acquisitions at a large, local software company (ah-hem!). She grew up (sometimes without electricity) in a very small town in Eastern Washington, so she is passionate about bringing political awareness and opportunity to every young Washington resident, regardless of geography or financial means. She loves cats and Excel way more than any young, single woman should, and in her free time she passionately supports Husky athletics, hiking local trails, and finding new favorite restaurants.
After catching the Bus bug at Oregon Bus Project events in Portland, Alison Mondi eagerly sought out the equally amazing Washington Bus, and she joined the board in 2008. Alison is communications director for NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, a grassroots pro-choice political advocacy organization. In 2004, Alison moved from historic Massachusetts, where she was born and raised, headed west to Portland to join the staff of a congressional campaign, and then worked as a legislative aide in Salem. When not working long hours for progressive political change, Alison enjoys trivia contests of all sorts, seeing live music, and nursing her nerd crush on Michael Cera.
Marcus Riccelli currently serves as U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell’s Eastern Washington Director. He has experience working as a field organizer, fundraiser and campaign manager. He loves the 509 (Eastern Washington, yeah!) and has a passion for reversing the longstanding trend in Spokane of exporting our greatest assets (18-to-20 somethings). Marcus graduated from Gonzaga (where he was “that guy” who painted his face and chest for basketball games) and received an M.P.A from the Evans School at UW. Eighties-Rock, a rowdy game of Dominos, and talking politics and religion in uncomfortable situations are his favorite pastimes.
A native of gritty Tacoma, April Sims works for the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE/AFSCME). She's served on other boards and committees - but they don't roll like the Bus. When April's not thinking about politics, advocating for union families or fighting for social justice, she's trying to prove her "cost-per-wear" shoe buying theory.
Inspired by a mixture of Howard Zinn, Rage Against the Machine and the history of the United States Labor movement in the early 20th century, Rory Steele became involved in Washington State politics in 2002 after being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. Rory served on President Obama's Primary Campaign team in several capacities, beginning in March 2007 as the Regional Director for Southwestern Iowa. He also served on President Obama's campaign team in Washington State as his General Election Director. Currently Rory works as a Principal at Argo Strategies in Seattle, where he works to develop effective strategies with progressive candidates running for elected office.
A Detroit-native, Jody Waits has spent the last 13 years in Seattle fund & friend raising for really awesome organizations, and currently spends her days with Pride Foundation. You can regularly find her digging in a thrift store, doing impressions of her mom, planning a dinner menu, playing pinball or puttering around with her partner, T.J., in the yard.
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