Meet our Team

  • A woman smiling and gesturing towards a store entrance labeled '12 Baskets'. She is wearing a pink shirt, denim shorts, sandals, and a cap, with a black apron around her neck. The shop has a glass door with a reflection of trees and ceiling lights inside. There are potted plants and flowers outside the shop.

    Donna Earnshaw, Cafe Kitchen Coordinator

    Kitchen Mama Donna, can take the heat not only in the kitchen but with advanced degrees in lab science and nutrition, as well as extensive studies in the culinary arts. Donna manages all the food coming into the café and into our bellies!

    Donna has lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, but she chose to settle in Asheville because she loves the mountains and the people.

  • Two women smiling and standing together at an indoor event, with presentation boards in the background, one woman wearing a purple jacket and the other a beige top with purple scarf.

    Paul Benoit - Kitchen Staff

    Bio coming soon!

    paul@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

  • A smiling person with short dark hair taking a selfie outdoors, with a building and a cloudy sky in the background.

    Hill Brown, Community Chaplain

    Hill is with us as a community chaplain on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Feel free to pull them aside if you need someone to chat with/you want some extra emotional or spiritual support. You can also let Hill know if there is someone you want them to visit in jail or the hospital.

    Hill@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

  • A woman taking a selfie with a black cat, both sitting on a brown couch with a wooden wall in the background.

    Shelly Baker, Interim Executive Director

    Shelly’s primary focus is the coordination of media communications/strategy and on daily administrative and operational needs of API & 12 Baskets Café.

    She can be found frequenting the café garden to drink coffee and socialize.

    shelly@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

API Board of Directors

  • Close-up of a middle-aged man with short gray hair, standing outdoors in front of a lush green background with trees, bushes, and a pathway with stairs.

    Steve Leventer, Chair

    Originally from the Northeast, Steven worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 35 years, designing and running clinical trials in psychiatry and neurology.  After retiring in 2015, Steven moved to Asheville, NC with his wife Anne.  He and Anne have served as volunteers at 12 Baskets Cafe since 2016.  When he’s not at the Cafe, Steven enjoys putting his feet up and smoking a cigar.

  • Stacey Sparks, Vice Chair

    Stacey is a dedicated volunteer at 12 Baskets Cafe. She loves people and learning new things.

    If you see her around the cafe say hi!

  • A circular logo with a geometric floral pattern in yellow, orange, and red, with the words "Ashville Poverty Initiative" around the border and "Est 2016" at the bottom.

    Kyle Yoder, Treasurer

    Kyle is a Certified Management Accountant with over 13 years of experience in financial analysis and strategic financial planning. He brings a strong foundation in accounting principles and a commitment to fiscal stewardship.

    Kyle is passionate about fostering inclusive communities and is aligned with Asheville Poverty Initiative’s mission to build community through meaningful dialogue and shared experiences that transcend social and economic divides.  

    Outside of his professional endeavors, Kyle enjoys attending local events, hiking the region's scenic trails with his partner and their energetic dog, and playing recreational soccer.

  • A man with a beard wearing a khaki cap and a white shirt, smiling, standing in front of a stone wall with a vertical opening showing bright light behind him.

    Bill Buchanan, Secretary

    Bill is the Executive Director of the non-profit Youth Mission Co and has lived in Asheville for over 20 years.  He loves engaging young people in the community and teaching them about living in ways that support our marginalized neighbors.  He was part of the original board of directors for Asheville Poverty Initiative and he is thrilled to be serving another term as a board member during this exciting time for API!

  • A smiling woman with curly hair and freckles, wearing a sleeveless black top and a necklace, against a dark background.

    Leslee Johnson

    Leslee N. Johnson is a writer and educator living in Western North Carolina, with an academic background in philosophy and creative writing. As a lecturer at UNC Asheville, she teaches humanities, first-year writing and professional writing, taking her classes into the city of Asheville

    through community engaged coursework. She co-facilitates the writing collective, Moonlight Cheese Alliance, at Asheville Poverty Initiative's 12 Baskets Cafe in West Asheville, which gives her space to practice her own poetry. Since 2022, she has served as the Director of UNC

    Asheville's Prison Education Program, with the opportunity to teach inside, and work with state and county entities, and local reentry organizations to design and support college-credit bearing programs and services that address the needs of students impacted by the justice system and poverty.

  • A smiling young woman with long braided hair wearing a light jacket and a top, looking to the side.

    Shunyu Huang

    Shunyu was born in 1989 in Zhuhai, Guangdong, Southern China.

    Before getting her Bachelor’s degree in Ecology, she traveled to Tibet, southwest China and southeast Asia with her film cameras in search of connections between different peoples and their homeland.

    She became a regular volunteer at 12 Baskets shortly after she moved to Asheville in 2017. 

    The 12 Baskets family helped her through the most challenging time as a foreigner and a new mother.

    Shunyu frequents classrooms and panels by inviting people to look at culture and community differently. Sharing tea, writing short poems, and walking with her son bring her immense joy.

  • A man wearing a plaid shirt and a straw hat standing outdoors in front of lush foliage and a brick building with mural art.

    Anson Cooke

    Anson is an Asheville native, a long-time volunteer at 12 Baskets, and an autodidact, polymath, and bibliophile.

  • Andrew Thomas

    I  grew up in Tucson, Arizona and first came to Ashevillein 2016 through the service corps program, Hands and Feet of Asheville. During that time I helped open 12 Baskets Cafe at its current location with API's founder Rev. Dr. Shannon Spencer. I'm so proud of the community we built and the relationships we made that year which laid the foundation for this beloved community that is still active and thriving to this day!

    In my free time I enjoy spending time with friends, making new connections in town, exploring outside in the wilderness or inside my kitchen, and making it down to Nashville to spend time with my family and nieces whenever I get the chance. I am SO excited to be back in town to share my energy and passion for community, relationships, and spreading the liturgy of abundance with 12 Baskets and the people of Asheville once again! 

  • TJ Amos

    Bio coming soon