Yessica Ayala Bonilla

Yessica Ayala Bonilla is a middle school teacher in Virginia, where she seeks to instill a love of education as much as she had growing up. She aspires to bridge across cultural groups as she works with a diverse group of learners.

Yessica graduated from the College of William & Mary with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology.  At William & Mary, Yessica co-founded UndocuTribe (now WMFIRE), the campus’ first student-led immigration advocacy group.

During her time as an undergraduate, she was on the dean’s list for academic excellence. At graduation, Yessica was awarded the Cypher Award, which is bestowed upon students who demonstrated exemplary engagement, leadership, and service to the campus as an undergraduate student.

After graduating from college, Yessica was a program coordinator at Georgetown University School of Medicine where she managed grants and helped with medical student education.

Yessica joined SisterMentors when she was 11 years old and in the 6th grade. She is a first-generation college graduate.