Wendy Armour, Executive Director
Hailing from Pasco, WA, Wendy is a Washington-state native and longtime Seattle resident! Wendy is a proud, first generation college graduate of Grambling State University in Louisiana. With over 35 years of experience through nonprofit, church, and family activities, Wendy is a longtime champion of youth-centered programming.
Yleana Benitez, Program Manager
Yleana (ee-le-ana) is first-generation Salvadoran- American and was born and raised in South Los Angeles. Given her experience in her neighborhood, she knows how accessibility to education and community resources can make a vital difference in a youth’s trajectory. Her passion is to serve communities that face the same inequalities. For the past 6 years, Yleana has worked with an LA mentoring organization and is eager to get to know all CfY mentoring matches! She is new to Seattle and welcomes any recommendations to get to know the city!
Development & Communications Manager
Ellen is a former AmeriCorps member from Dallas, TX. She is passionate about connecting with community members through inspiring and impactful storytelling, and is so excited to join CfY as the Development and Communications Manager! In her free time, she loves to cook, read, listen to music, and hike trails with her partner and dog.
Patrick Halm, Program Specialist
Patrick grew up in Great Falls, Virginia and has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 2021. Before joining CfY, Patrick served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Portland, working alongside at-risk youth and supporting them in pursuing their education goals. Patrick believes wholeheartedly in the promise and possibility of community empowerment and is so excited to work alongside all of the amazing individuals involved in this community. When he’s not on the clock, Patrick loves spending time outside, discovering new music, working on his photography, and getting lost in bookstores!
Sandy Vo, Program Coordinator
Sandy has spent the past few years working alongside youth and communities of color within a social-justice-oriented framework, and is excited to take this next professional step with CfY! Drawing from her own personal experiences, Sandy is passionate about ensuring that youth have their own voice as well as strong support systems. In her free time, Sandy can be seen exploring new places, around concert venues, or at the library!
Desteni Amezcua, MSW Practicum Student
Originally from Stockton, California, I made my way to the Pacific NorthWest to work for City Year Seattle. I’ve always been passionate about being a source of support for others. I believe every encounter with an individual is an opportunity to learn from and with that being said, I’m super excited to work along with Community for Youth! During my free time, you can catch me exploring new hiking spots or recreating a new vegetarian dish.
Mo Tomassetti, MSW Practicum Student
Mo is originally from Sacramento, California and moved to the PNW for graduate school! As a queer, nonbinary, Black person they know the importance of having strong support systems. They are passionate about working alongside young people and cannot wait to get to know all of the mentoring matches here at CfY! In their free time, they enjoy reading and exploring the live music scene! Since they are fairly new to Seattle, they welcome any recommendations for restaurants and cool places to visit!