The Washington Bus

Staff

Cinthia Illan-Vazquez

Cinthia Illan-Vazquez

Executive Director

Cinthia (she/her/ella) joins the Bus from her role as Community Engagement Manager at the Center for Education Results where she led and supported various community engagement efforts and strategies. Her drive to bring access and equity to our political and civic process solidified when she was a Fellow and, later, the Fellowship Coordinator at the Bus. Previously, Cinthia served as legislative assistant to current Speaker of the Washington State House of Representatives Laurie Jinkins, and as a community organizer with the Washington Dream Coalition, an undocumented and youth-led advocacy organization. She believes in the importance of people-centered movements aimed at dismantling systems of oppression through policy. Cinthia is excited to leverage her skills to amplify the Bus’s mission. Away from the office, she enjoys outdoor activities that connect her to the indigenous lands we are occupying.

You can reach Cinthia by email at cinthia[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Tai Yang-Abreu

Tai Yang-Abreu

Organizing Manager

Tai Yang-Abreu (she/her) joins the Bus as the Youth Organizing Manager after seven years of campaign organizing; she’s just as comfortable on the doorstep as in statewide strategy sessions. Tracing her political roots to her college days in student government, she credits the Bus with guiding her early days in political advocacy. Now, she oversees the Summer Fellowship program, campus outreach, and youth voter mobilization, ensuring the future is in good hands.

As an immigrant, queer woman of color, Tai jokes she represents more intersections than Seattle’s busiest junction. Away from the hustle, she’s likely found enjoying downtime with her wife and dog in their West Seattle home.

You can reach Tai at tai[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Ashley Ford

Ashley Ford

Development Director

Ashley Ford, CFRE (she/they) is a community builder and experienced fundraiser with a passion for redistributing resources to those who need them most. They are a fierce advocate dedicated to disrupting harmful systems and building capacity for young people to thrive. Originally from small-town North Carolina, Ashley moved to Seattle in 2019 with their partner and two cats after graduating from NC State University with a degree in Public Health (Go Pack!)
 
Ashley currently chairs the board for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) of Seattle and serves as a Co-Chair on the Seattle LGBTQ+ Commission. They have also been a musician for over 15 years, currently performing as a flautist with Rainbow City Performing Arts.
 
In their “free” time, you can find them on a local hiking trail or looking for the best lavender latte in town!

You can reach Ashley at ashley[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Astro Lai

Astro Lai

Operations Manager

Astro (he/him) found his political footing, like many of our staff and interns, during his years as a student activist. In his chosen hometown of St Louis, MO, he volunteered as an organizer and lent his voice as a slam poet to causes near to his heart. He’s since gotten his MA, traveled the world, and worked in various creative and administrative roles, but he’s always been happiest on a tight knit team of weirdos working tirelessly towards a better future. So he’s going to fit right in at The Bus!
 
For Astro, political engagement has always been about fighting for the people he loves and inviting others to join the family. He’s ready to bring his experience and passion to the Ops Manager role and stick around to see our mission through. 
 
Bailey Medilo

Bailey Medilo

Digital and Communications Organizer

Bailey (any pronouns) was born and raised in Seattle and is an experienced political organizer with a focus on youth issues. Coming from a family background of public and union workers, they found inspiration, drive, and passion for organizing as a result of being raised by a vibrant and active community.

They are most experienced with staffing, managing, and cultivating class conscious candidates and campaigns to advance BIPOC & Queer liberation, climate justice, and youth advocacy for all communities furthest from justice and beyond. They specialize in political branding, graphic design, content creation, and campaign management.

Off the clock, he is a regular public commenter on issues regarding wealth justice, ethnic studies, and youth issues and has testified before school boards, city councils, commissions, and the state legislature. They are also a cheesy creative writer by passion—having written and published a short fiction story on the South Seattle Emerald and helped peer review and edit over 40 short fiction stories. He can also be found posting incredibly bad takes on non-Bus socials or volunteering for countless political campaigns.

Bailey’s goal is to create accessible, vibrant, and exciting content that pushes the youth agenda forward with an eye toward respectfully and unabashedly advocating for and representing communities furthest from justice.

You can reach bailey through bailey[at]washingtonbus[dot]org

Edgar Espino

Edgar Espino

Campus Organizer

Edgar (he/him/el) graduated from Central Washington University (CWU) with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, minoring in Spanish and Economics in 2022. He brings with him over 3 years of lobbying experience and 4 years of civic engagement experience as the Campus Organizer. Starting with the Bus Fellowship in 2019, he would eventually move on to be politically active on Central’s campus as a Political Action Coordinator for MECHA de CWU. As well, was the Director of Governmental Affair for the Student Government at Central (ASCWU), where he got the opportunity to lobby the state legislature on basic needs and financial aid for students for two legislative sessions with the Washington Student Association (WSA) as a student lobbyist representing Central students. Post graduation, Edgar worked as a Government Relations Contractor for Sermonti Public Affairs, where he got to represent clients like Habitat for Humanity and worked for the Governor’s Office for a bit before joining back up with the Bus!

Edgar hopes to guide youth with the right tools, knowledge, support, and mentorship in molding them into effective political organizers in our communities. In his free time, Edgar enjoys playing the drums (drum set and marching snare), listening to music, weightlifting, longboarding, hiking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

You can reach Edgare at Edgar[at]washingtonbus[dot]org.

Haydon Ramirez

Haydon Ramirez

Eastern Washington Campus Organizer

Haydon Ramirez (he/him) graduated from Gonzaga University with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science in 2023. At Gonzaga, he co-founded the Mutual Aid Club, a student group dedicated to community outreach, solidarity, and political education. Haydon joins the Bus in the role of Campus Organizer as a passionate advocate for increasing civic participation among young people and challenging systems of oppression. His passions also extend into the workplace, where he helped successfully unionize the first Regal Cinemas in the United States this summer, as he and his coworkers joined Teamsters Local 690.

Haydon also enjoys reading and writing about issues related to political, social, and economic justice, and is a frequent contributor to the Dorothy Day Labor Forum newsletter, as well as a regular volunteer with organizations such as Spokane DSA, the Inland Northwest Coalition for the Liberation of Palestine, and Veterans for Peace, among others.

Haydon is currently studying to become a social studies teacher, but holds a long term goal of teaching at the university level, where he will dedicate his work to engaging students in the political process and promoting youth leadership. In his free time, he enjoys live music, traveling, watching movies, and spending time with family, friends, and his partner.

Vote Bot

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!