Ayla joined Humanity United in 2022 as a Senior Advisor on the Policy and Government Relations team, which is responsible for influencing governments and multilateral institutions in pursuit of policy change and regulatory action that cultivate the conditions for enduring peace and freedom. In this role, Ayla coordinates and provides strategic coherence for HU’s engagement with the U.S. executive branch. She also provides technical policy support to HU’s Forced Labor and Human Trafficking Portfolio.
Prior to joining HU, Ayla worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in a variety of roles. Most recently, she worked to support the agency’s partnership with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. Prior to this, she managed USAID’s bilateral relationships with donor governments and supported policy coordination within multilateral institutions such as the G7, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations. She also served on the Administrator’s Action Alliance for Preventing Sexual Misconduct, co-leading the agency’s work to develop and sign on to three international policy commitments and an OECD Development Assistance Committee Recommendation focused on prevention and accountability.
Previously, Ayla worked in corporate citizenship and communications in the private sector; and worked as a staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives. She holds a master’s degree in International Business and Human Security from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Baylor University. She has a passion for ensuring that all people, especially youth, have access to arts education and has volunteered as a music and visual arts instructor for students with limited access for over a decade.