Yon­nah was raised in Seat­tle. She attend­ed Whit­man Col­lege and George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty where she stud­ied at the Cor­co­ran Gallery under a Zen mas­ter archi­tect and ceram­i­cist. She received her Mas­ters at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Wash­ing­ton. She made aliyah in 1981 and lives in the U.S. and Israel. She has been an artist in many dis­ci­plines, and teacher since 1976.