Annie Hout
Development Director
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.
Bridget Doyle Williams
Community Engagement Coordinator
Bridget (She/Hers) first got involved in GOTV efforts and engaging young people in local politics while in college at Western Washington University. She then continued those efforts as a Washington Bus fellow in summer 2016. After studying abroad in Japan and finishing up her degree in Political Science, she is now back at the Washington Bus as the Community Engagement Coordinator. When not working to help register young people to vote and doing all other things Bus, Bridget likes to hangout with her dog Miranda, watch Bob Ross, and further master her liquid eyeliner skills.
Emilio Garza
Executive Director
Emilio (He/Him/His) got his start at the Bus as a 2012 Summer Fellow. Since then, he’s been a full-time Bus staff member on the programming side, successfully helped elect Seattle’s youngest City Councilmember Rob Johnson as Campaign Manager, and also served as CM Johnson’s Legislative Assistant on issues concerning labor and the economy, public safety and police accountability, and all things transportation. Now, Emilio is back at the Bus serving as resident “fall guy” (read: Executive Director). In his free time he enjoys rooting for the Mariners and Seahawks, advocating for smart urban planning, land use, and transportation investments, and staying active in the local hip hop community. Contact Emilio for all things “fall guy” related, like media requests, new partnerships and strategic direction.
Lily Clifton
Program Director
Raisah Vesteinsdottir
Operations Manager
Raisah (She/Her/Hers) began at the Bus as our Operations Manager in Fall 2017. Before she arrived to the Bus family, Raisah worked on a variety of community driven projects on her college campus focusing on gender equity and support for survivors of sexual violence. After she received her BA in Biology, Raisah returned to Seattle to work a short stint with Seattle Neighborhoods Group before starting at the Bus. In her free time Raisah enjoys finding the best secret Seattle eateries, hanging out by the lake and testing her gluten-free baking skills. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Raisah with any questions about the Bus.
Olivia Smith
Field and Advocacy Manager
Olivia (she/her/hers), born and raised in Seattle, got her start in local politics interning for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s campaign in 2016. Before joining the Bus, Olivia was working with the Transit Riders Union, where she advocated with community for progressive tax reform and humane solutions to Seattle’s homelessness crisis. Beyond work at the Bus, Olivia is an anti-racist organizer with Youth Undoing Institutional Racism and European Dissent, both part of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, a national network of groups working to undo racism. When she isn’t organizing, you can find Olivia enjoying local parks and spending time with family.
Will Kittel
Leadership Development Coordinator
Will (she/her) started at the Bus in summer of 2016 as an intern after graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in English and Education. Will then came back in summer of 2017 as a fellow and worked on the Washington Voting Justice campaign. After teaching in South King County for two years, Will is back at the Bus as the Leadership Development Coordinator. When not at the Bus, Will enjoys reading new books, listening to Beyoncé, and learning new languages.
Vote Bot
Official Mascot
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!