Laurel Fish (she/her) joined the Spokane Alliance as our Senior Organizer in July 2022. She was born and raised in Spokane and has been involved in the Alliance since moving back home in 2020. Laurel spent the last eight years in the labor movement, working to build power with hospitality workers in the San Francisco Bay Area, food processing workers in the Tri-Cities, and frontline healthcare workers in Spokane. 

She passionately believes that developing leaders to recognize and wield their own power is one of the few ways to create long-lasting change. She is committed to working with Spokane Alliance member organizations to build an inclusive, strategic, and powerful coalition so that everyday people can affect change in our community.

Chloe Sciammas (she/they) is our Associate Organizer and has been working with the Spokane Alliance since March 2020. Chloe organized the COVID Monitoring Program which connected over 100 patients with trained volunteers and medical attention for 9 months of the pandemic.

She also helped pass Housing Bill 1590 in Spokane, which will generate $6 M/Year for 20 years to build affordable housing in Spokane. Her primary focus now is around childcare, youth mental health, and strengthening our institutions from the inside!

Hi all – Chloe here! I was on a path to pursue medicine, specifically gynecology when I found the Spokane Alliance. I wanted to use medicine as a tool for gender equity in healthcare, but the concept of building local power through genuine relationships changed my life. Organizing, to me, is a way to allow myself and others to feel seen, valued, and powerful. The issues that I am personally passionate about include reproductive rights, disability access, and environmental justice. Reach out!

Melissa McElfresh (she/her) has been the Administrative Organizer for Spokane Alliance since the Spring of 2021 and added the Bookkeeping role during the Fall of 2021. She has over 20 years of experience in customer service, including running an online store and website for gastroparesis advocacy. Melissa stood hand-in-hand with a coalition to speak with house and senate representatives in Washington DC over a much-needed bill to help those with gastroparesis medical needs.

Health struggles forced her family to sell their country home in Spokane. They then spent 5 years in Montana (Sidney & Whitefish), following her husband as a store manager before the retail corporation closed. 

Moving back to Spokane after living in different cultures, her eyes were wide-open to community needs. Melissa’s desire to help others is what drew her to Spokane Alliance.

Leila Lewis (she/they) is our AmeriCorps VISTA Affordable Housing Specialist and has been with the Spokane Alliance since August 2021.

Through a partnership between the Spokane Alliance and the Whitworth University Dornsife Center for Community Engagement, Leila's VISTA project focuses on building resident leadership to advocate for affordable housing in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane.

The opportunity to experience power through relationships and center the voices of those with lived experience is what drew Leila to community organizing with the Spokane Alliance.