By LAUREL BUSBY
Staff Writer
The new Pacific Palisades postmaster, Ayesha Denson, has spent most of her adult life working for the postal service.
Denson, 46, who grew up in Carson and graduated from Banning High School in 1987, at first headed off to UC Berkeley, but had to withdraw for financial reasons. She returned home, and worked some odd jobs before finding a position as a letter carrier in 1989.
She soon married and had her first child, and her work at the Rimpau post office turned out to be flexible work for a new mom. She could finish her route early and participate in the activities of her kids, Amir and Aleah Porter, now 25 and 23. During 2010, the year Aleah graduated from high school, Denson took a test, applied to join the U.S. Postal Service management and was soon accepted as a supervisor at the post office where she had already worked as a carrier for 18 years.
The transition to management went well. “This was my time,” said Denson, who now lives in Lakewood. “It was the right time for me.”
Denson, who created a five-year plan for herself to become postmaster, was soon promoted to manager of the Wagner Branch. She spent about two years there before managing the Westchester Station for a year in 2013 and then taking over as manager of the Lugo Station post office in 2014.
On February 6, she was again promoted to postmaster for Pacific Palisades. “This is a dream job,” said Denson, who has found the local customers to be kind and friendly. “It’s nice. It’s pleasant. It’s not really busy.”
Denson has enjoyed getting to know the community since her arrival. Thus far, she has joined the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce and attended meetings at the Chamber and Optimist Club. “This is my first postmaster job. I like learning what goes on in the city,” said Denson, who will have her own installation ceremony as postmaster in late April.
Denson is in charge of 45 employees, and the post office has 3,000 post office boxes plus a lobby that is open 24 hours a day. Her biggest concern is that the survey scores from customers who visit the lobby are lower than she would like. “I need to find out why,” Denson said. “Why are the survey scores not where they should be or rather where I want them to be?”
When not in the Palisades, Denson volunteers every Saturday at the historical Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum, and she also participates in the charity Mothers Helping Others. She and her second husband, Anh Tuan Denson, enjoy vacationing, and her family has five generations who live in the L.A. metropolitan area, ranging from her grandparents, who are 96 and 94, to their great-great grandchild, who is a newborn.
“I’m outgoing, and I love to read,” Denson said. “I’m actually very goal oriented and driven . . . I make it a point to vacation. We have to work hard. We need to relax and enjoy life.”
Denson said the post office welcomes school tours with two weeks’ notice. She has also scheduled an open house for April 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Attendees can tour the facility, learn about using post office services in their homes or businesses, and enjoy refreshments. Call (310) 454-0956 for more information.
Ayesha Denson is the new Pacific Palisades postmaster. Photo: Bart Bartholomew
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