Ben's a proud dad to daughters Grace and Keira and initially found API as a teacher bringing school groups on poverty walks. After years in education, Ben's most recent experiences are in community organizing and non-profit management.

When not working, Ben is usually found at home with his two dogs and his amazing wife Hayette (pictured), owner/operator of Back Porch Baking Company.

Ben’s favorite thing to eat is tacos!

ben@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Starting as a volunteer in the cafe, Aaron showed his commitment to service and demonstrated an understanding of the values we hold dear. Aaron is always the first to volunteer to help no matter the project and is a positive, calm presence in the café. Aaron is passionate about community building and fostering connections with others.

While Aaron's roots lie deep in Cajun country where he grew up, he has traveled and lived all over including many years in Georgia before landing in Asheville, NC. His pastimes (in his words) include rocking chairs and bonfires. Aaron also holds a passion for playing hockey, going bass fishing, as well as jamming out to country and folk music. When asked what his favorite food is, this good southern boy quickly said, "Rice and gravy!"

Aaron@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Kitchen Mama Donna, our Notorious KMD, can take the heat not only in the kitchen but with high degrees in lab science and nutrition, as well extensive studies in the culinary arts. Donna manages all the food coming in 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.

Her favorite breakfast food depends on what's in season.

Another volunteer turned staff member, Mae Mims has been instrumental in restarting our Realities of Poverty Education program. Mae is a dedicated community member with a wide range of talents. She has been volunteering with 12 Baskets for many years, coordinating food pickups and contributing to the relaunch of the social media and marketing campaigns in 2022.

With experience in project management and small business ownership, she is someone who gets things done and is accustomed to making adjustments when necessary. Outside of work, Mae enjoys hiking, gardening, and going to the gym which is her second home.

Her favorite food? Well, she would never turn down Indian Food!

mae@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Coming most recently from New York City, Shelly was born and raised not far from Asheville in Columbia, South Carolina. In her spare time, Shelly likes to craft and spend time with friends, her husband Ryan and their two cats Harmy and Noor.

Shelly’s primary focus is the coordination of media communications/strategy and on daily administrative needs of API & 12 Baskets Café. She can be found frequenting the café garden to drink coffee and socialize.

Shelly’s favorite thing to eat is cheese in any form (mac and cheese, grilled cheese, string cheese, etc).

shelly@ashevillepovertyinitiative.org

Hill is with us as a community chaplain on Mondays and Tuesdays. 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.

Bio coming soon!

Originally growing up on the road, Ari has found a home in Asheville and has lived here for 6 years. In his spare time, he loves gardening, playing board games, and listening to music. 

He is the Social Work intern at API from Warren Wilson College, learning to working with communities and individuals. Ari is here to support you as he learns to be a professional helper. He can help encourage you to meet your goals and connect you with support and resources in the larger community, during cafe hours: Mon, Tue, and Thu. Don’t hesitate to say hello! 

Some of Ari’s favorite foods are Thai, like curry and pad Thai, but he still has a soft spot for old reliable pizza.  

Born and raised in the valleys of West Asheville and having always had an affinity for writing, Elle became involved with API after being guided to their poetry collective, Moonlight Cheese Alliance. Loving it, the garden community and the voices she heard, she took on the role as the media coordinator, creating the website and running the instagram. 

Since the launch of The Intersection, Elle’s focus has shifted, to doing those same things for the street paper. She also is a contributor to the paper, with a focus on local organizations and social justice issues. Excited to be a part of the early stages of this project (and being a virgo), she also loves brainstorming on logistics to broaden the reach of the paper. 

In her spare time, she enjoys making music, upcycling clothes, collaging, drawing and exploring any other creative whim that crosses her path.

Ellie is an intern at 12 Baskets Café from Warren Wilson College! Her interests center around the healing arts, community connection, and exploring the impacts of loneliness and social isolation.

She has been practicing Reiki since 2021, an experience that first sparked her curiosity about how presence and holistic forms of care can reduce isolation and support wellbeing. At the café, she will be shadowing and offering Reiki healing sessions.

In her free time, Ellie enjoys yoga, junk journaling, watching campy movies (she’s worked at a local movie theater!), and spending time with her cat, Nezumi. Feel free to say hello when you see her around the café!

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.

Bio coming soon!

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.

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!

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.

Taija (they/them) has been coming to 12 Baskets Cafe since 2021, and started volunteering with their baby strapped into a carrier in 2023. Taija moved to Asheville in 2008, and graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2011. Today they run a small fitness business, work seasonally for Firefly Earthskills Gathering to help make earthskills gatherings a safer and more inclusive space for BIPOC and queer people, and spend time at 12 Baskets Cafe.

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.

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

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!