"I am a CIS female, Asian American/Latinx, feminist and progressive Christian minister. I want an
"I am a CIS female, Asian American/Latinx, feminist and progressive Christian minister. I want an opportunity to learn from others on the committee and to contribute from my own experience to DEI work at Volunteers of America. I have been involved with organizations and movements for justice and peace since 1968, and I engage in intersecting coalition work because I believe if anyone lives with injustice, it affects me and is part of my struggle. Diversity experiences have defined my life. I was born in Fukuoka, Japan, and raised by my Buddhist grandparents and mother until I was six. My White stepfather moved my mother and me to Fort Riley, Kansas, just as I started first grade; I had to learn English and change religion, culture, and country almost overnight. I was raised in the military with friends of all races, many of whom had lived in foreign countries wherever there were US bases. By the time I was 16, I also had lived on three continents, Asia, North America, and Europe and in three states, Kansas, Mississippi, and California. My last semester in college, I sailed aboard World Campus Afloat, which held classes on board and stopped in fourteen cities along the coasts of Africa and Asia, beginning with Casablanca, Morocco, and ending with Kobe, Japan. I’ve spent many years of my life in the religion academy building and supporting organizations that advocate for minoritized scholars and have accumulated much social capital with experts who work on DEI issues.”
