Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

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!

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.

Bio coming soon!

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.

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.

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.