Editor’s note: LWVWA Board Secretary Angela Gyurko, who serves on the state League Nominating Committee and chairs the 2027 Convention Committee, recently visited with Director Sasha Bentley. They discussed how Bentley finds balance in her life as she works full time, serves on the State Board with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion portfolio, and raises her 6-year-old daughter, Ember.  

By Angela Gyurko, Secretary, LWV of Washington

There’s a perception in the League that all board members are retired and have come from large Leagues, having worked their way through committees and local League leadership positions before joining the Board. But Sasha Bentley shows that there are other paths to League leadership. Because I also came in from a non-traditional League background, I wanted to have a conversation with Sasha about her path to Board service. Bentley is a member of the Klickitat-Skamania Unit-At-Large and joined the State Board in June 2025.  She is director of Strategy and Operations for Washington Gorge Action Programs, a basic-needs nonprofit expanding into civic and community engagement. 

(This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.) 

Angela: As a member-at-large, and then a member of a unit-at-large, were you nervous about applying to the LWVWA Board? I know I personally was, because I knew I didn't have the leadership background of the people who lead the larger leagues. 

Sasha: Yes, I was very nervous. Because I wasn't "traditionally" ready for leadership. I was grateful the League has an option for community members who are ready to provide voter services to the community but aren't ready to commit to creating a full League. We were a group of women knowing we had to do more in our communities after 2016, and I knew the League, from my high school civic organizing days, had resources already available. We knew we didn't need to reinvent the wheel. We started as members-at-large, collectively taking on voter registration, information outreach efforts, and holding county and local candidate forums. 

Angela: What was your motivation for applying and what was your thought process going into your application? 

Sasha: I had recently obtained a lot of equity and systems-change knowledge and experience that I wanted to share and see it change an organization from the board level. I had previously been in contact with state League leaders since 2016 and they had floated the idea of me being a board member. I knew the League was doing more in the DEI space. But it took someone asking me to really take the leap.  

Angela: As someone who works full-time, can you talk about how you've made the work-League-life balance work?   

Sasha: I've always had some sort of volunteer project on top of my regular work, so it was easy to shift to League work at this time. I've been able to expand my time working with the League because my nonprofit grants have gone down, which means I've reduced my working hours. I work 30 hours a week which keeps me from burnout and allows me to do real work with the League! I'm very privileged in my position as well, being able to work from home, take a zoom call, and flex my time. The ability to Zoom into meetings from a campground also helps with the work-life balance. 

Angela: What advice do you have for Millennials and Gen Z regarding leadership in the League? 

Sasha: My advice is to say yes to leadership and not be afraid to push back or ask for more support. In my initial meeting with the nominating committee members, I think I said I could commit 10 hours a month to League work, which was bare minimum.  

I convinced them the quality of work I could produce in that time would be worth it. I also convinced them that board duty wouldn’t be too much added to my life, and I appreciated that they expressed concern about my well-being. 

And why say yes to leadership? It's great experience professionally but personally, too.  

There are a lot of great people out there waiting to work together, listen to other perspectives, and share their knowledge.  ... Don't wait until you feel like you have enough experience to be a leader. You probably won't feel ready, and that's okay. The League needs your perspective now, not just after you've spent 10 years working your way up.