Staff

Amy (She/Her) joins the Bus as a 20+ year non-profit professional. She served as the interim executive director for University Beyond Bars, from May 2017 – May 2018 and spent 18 years at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle as their Vice President for Planning and Community Services. Her foci are in strategic planning and implementation, fundraising, leadership development, and building high performing teams. Amy has spent the majority of her career in the areas of health and human services and education. She enjoys digging into operations and programming challenges, analyzing complex situations to determine root causes, and developing real-world solutions to successfully address problems using a unified team approach which includes professional staff and organizational volunteer leaders, all working towards the same objectives. Amy has a master’s degree in social work, with a concentration in community organization, is recently remarried, and has three children ages 18-23 and enjoys baking, hot yoga, and traveling in her spare time. You can reach Amy by email at amy[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Annie (She/Her/Hers) was born and raised in Tacoma, WA. She is passionate about the transformative impact of philanthropy. Annie joins the Bus from Seattle University where she worked with donors and volunteers since 2012 and recently earned a master’s in nonprofit leadership. She currently serves on the board of the Nonprofit Assistance Center, which supports marginalized communities through organizational capacity building, leadership development, and systems change. Away from the office, you can find her enjoying friends, family and food, preferably all at the same time. You can reach Annie by email at annie[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Danny (he/him/his) is a New Jersey native and Pomona College graduate who is thrilled to be joining the team at the Washington Bus. Danny comes to the Bus from the political consulting world, where he was an award-winning program manager and campaign consultant. He’s thrilled to pivot back to youth organizing and apply his political background to the Bus’ mission. Beyond work, you can find Danny hiking, befriending dogs, seeking out live music and exploring Seattle’s plethora of coffee shops. You can reach him at danny[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Leila (she/her/hers • pronounced Leela) is a Seattle native who is excited to return to the Bus after interning here in 2014. She has experience working with young people in and out of schools on issues that matter to them, and building youth led programs focused on social justice. She recently returned to Seattle after completing her Masters in Comparative Social Change from Trinity College, Dublin. Her masters research focused on the Domestic Workers rights movement, and how labor and immigrant rights movements increasingly intersect. When she was a kid, she at one point attempted to read every book in the library, making it through only one and half shelves before admitting defeat. This ambitious sense of possibility and love of learning has followed her into adulthood. You can reach Leila by email at leila[at] washingtonbus[dot]org.

Libby (She/Her/Hers) recently moved to Seattle from Ohio, where she studied Spanish at The Ohio State University. She has always been driven by compassion and a desire to cultivate community. Libby has a background in nonprofit work and has worked in both the finance and field organizing sides of campaigning. Outside of work, you’ll see Libby at the gym, hunting for the best vegan food, hiking in the mountains with her dog, or reading while drinking too much coffee. You can reach Libby by email at libby[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Mo (she/her) began her grassroots organizing journey in Denver with New Era Colorado, where she registered voters and developed a passion for civic engagement. She went on to become a campus organizing fellow with New Era’s sister organization, The Brazen Project, to further develop her organizing skills through an intersectional reproductive rights lens. She moved to Seattle in 2019 and is very excited to be joining the Bus so she can use her passion for intersectional youth activism to empower the young folx of Washington. Outside of work, Mo loves to play video games, make oddly specific playlists, and pet cats.

Xinyu Qiu (he/his/him) is the operations manager at the Washington Bus. Xinyu is from Shanghai, China, and has been going to school in Washington state since he was 15 years old. Seattle has been Xinyu’s second home for more than 8 years, and he graduated from Seattle University with a degree in Public Affairs and Economics. Being an international student and living in downtown Seattle for more than five years, he has seen many issues such as homelessness, gentrification and many more firsthand. Working at the Washington Bus allows him to work on these social problems directly. In his spare time, Xinyu loves to watch sports, read, listen to books and play video games. You can reach Xinyu by email at xinyu[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Vote Bot is a sophisticated democracy robot sent back in time to change the future for one lucky state. And that lucky winner just so happens to be our very own Evergreen State, Washington. They came to us to break down barriers to voting and take names. Vote Bot comes from a place where voter registration is automatic for all eligible voters, turnout for the most local of elections is always 100%, where there’s a voting drop box in every home, and a young person heading out to get civically involved on every street!
Vote Bot isn’t only the hero we have, but the one we deserve. Helping us engage young people in politics and building the next generation of young leaders in Washington is hard wired into Vote Bot, and with them on board the Bus we’ll keep winning year after year!