Staff List

David Ayala-Zamora was born in El Salvador. His desire to achieve peace, justice and democracy in his homeland brought him from a Christian youth church leadership position to being an audacious labor organizer during the US-backed Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s. He was arrested by the El Salvador government, and jailed and tortured. He arrived in the United State in 1990.  Since then, he has committed himself to organizing and working on immigrant issues.  His experience includes working for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project as a paralegal, talking to immigrants and employers across Washington, ORegon and Idaho about employement-based discrimination; helping to organize CASA Latina, a Seatle center for day laborers; and being one of the founders of the Comite Pro Amnestia y Justicia Social, which sought to bring more attention to immigration issues, including beginning the May 1st march in Seattle. Most recently, he has spent many years working for SEIU Local 6 in Seattle and Local 49 and 503 in Portland, helping to organize several successful campaigns in the private sector, most recently Service Master on Swan Island, OR.  David tells organizers he leads that "The organizer's job is to help people discover the power they have when they work together." In this context, he has helped hundreds of janitors, immigrants, and US Citizens take risks in order to achieve common goals as members of society. He left backpacking and running marathons to marry Siovhan Sheridan-Ayala. He has three kids who keep him young.

Ashley Leasure joined OneAmerica as Interim Development Director in February 2009.  Her work in the field is guided by more than sixteen years of experience as a Director of Development and member of executive management teams for social service, arts and medical-based non-profit organizations, most recently expanding the fundraising programs of ACT Theatre and Seattle Theatre Group (the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres).

Prior to coming to Seattle, Ashley led successful development programs including a seven-county division of the March of Dimes and CENTERS for Children & Families. In early 2007, she founded her company, OrangeGerbera, Inc., and began consulting and contracting with several nonprofit groups in the Puget Sound area including Legal Voice (formerly Northwest Women's Law Center), Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Hedgebrook, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Women's Funding Alliance and the American Lung Association.

Kendra graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor in Spanish and International Studies with a focus on Cross Cultural Communication, Ethnic Studies, and Indigenous Studies. While attending University, she studied in Chile, volunteered in Ecuador with at-risk children, worked with farm workers in Oregon, and organized with student groups and the Latino Community.  She has also taught English in Southern Spain. 

Jennifer graduated from the University of Washington in 2007 with a major in Anthropology and minor in Human Rights.  During her time at UW, Jennifer studied abroad in Paris, France and Bergen, Norway.  After graduation, she worked as an intern at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in Accra, Ghana and studied French in Rabat, Morocco.    Before coming to OneAmerica, Jennifer worked as a program coordinator at Seattle-based non-profit, Associates in Cultural Exchange where she organized world language programs for children.  At A.C.E., she worked to expand instruction of critical languages, including Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, and make these programs more available to underserved youth.  An avid musician since age 4, Jennifer enjoys playing piano and violin in her free time.

Julie comes to OneAmerica with twenty years of not-for-profit finance experience. Previously, she worked with the Coalition of Essential Schools Northwest and the Seattle Children's Theatre. Julie has a Master's from the University of Washington and a Bachelor's from the University of Oregon, both in Education. She has two grown daughters, one a teacher, the other a librarian.  She is a native of Seattle.

Marie is an immigrant from South Africa who went through the citizenship process herself and brings a variety of experiences to this position. Marie is a University of Washington Law graduate with experience in private immigration practice, focusing on removal defense, family based petitions, citizenship, VAWA, U-visas and T-visas. In law school, Marie worked with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the International Rescue Committee and Northwest Justice Project. Prior to moving to Seattle in 2003, she worked for the American Bar Association in Washington D.C., recruiting attorneys for pro bono international rule of law projects. She has a bachelor degree in Law and Society from the School of Public Affairs at American University. Marie grew up in the Boston area and enjoys living in Seattle with her husband and daughter.

Maha joined OneAmerica after being a language instructor at University of Washington, Middlebury College and Seattle University. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Masters in Arts in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization with her research focusing on cross-cultural communication between the United States and the Middle East. Her research included interviewing a broad sample of population from actors to politicians to local community members.  She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. She works extensively with various immigrant groups in the community and tutors and mentors youth of all ages within immigrant communities by organizing counseling and tutoring opportunities. She respects and recognizes the need of OneAmerica and is committed to help in its fight for social, racial and economic justice.