Embedded Files
Lorenze Legaspi proudly serves as the Vice President of Administrative Services for San Diego Mesa College. Lorenze is an administrator who promotes equity and mindfulness throughout departments within Administrative Services. He brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of budget, facilities, safety, construction, planning, and operations management.
Lorenze comes from Filipino and Chamorro roots and continues on his journey of learning about culture and identity. Lorenze is whole-heartedly committed to serving the students of Mesa College.
5/14 Keynote
5/14 Keynote
Dr. Sy Stokes is a spoken word artist and postdoctoral fellow for the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan. His primary research is focused on campus racial climates during the Trump presidency. Dr. Stokes graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a BA in African American studies, earned his master's degree in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his PhD in education at the University of Southern California (USC) with a 700-page dissertation, Into the Wildfire: Campus Racial Climate and the Trump Presidency.
Check out Dr. Stokes' viral videos, The Black Bruins and Dear White Counselor, and his latest article published on Medium, Why We Are Calling for Black and Asian Solidarity.
5/14 Special Guest
5/14 Special Guest
Marissa Aroy received an Emmy for the documentary Sikhs in America and an Emmy nomination for the documentary on Filipino American history called The Delano Manongs. She was a video producer and assignment manager at United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in New York where she directed public service announcements with Liam Neeson, Angelique Kidjo and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She also covered UNICEF’s emergency disaster response during 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. A Fulbright scholar, Aroy was named "One of the Legendary Filipino Americans" by Buzzfeed. She was recipient of the first ever Hatsuye Yamasaki (’37) Award for Visionary Leadership, in honor of first ever female Asian American student at the College of William and Mary and has recently been appointed in Filmmaker-in-Residence at the same college. She is currently working on a historical documentary on the Philippine American War and teaching film at Trinity College Dublin and at The New School in New York.
5/14 Keynote
5/14 Keynote
Dr. Jason Magabo Perez is a writer, performer, teacher, and scholar. Dr. Perez is the author of Phenomenology of Superhero (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2016) and This is for the mostless (WordTech Editions, 2017). Recipient of an NEA Challenge America Grant, Dr. Perez has been a featured performer at notable venues such as National Asian American Theatre Festival, International Conference of the Philippines, La Jolla Playhouse, and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions.
Dr. Perez works as Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University San Marcos, and is the current Artist-in-Residence at Center for Art and Thought (CA+T) and inaugural Community Arts Fellow at Bulosan Center.
5/14 Keynote
5/14 Keynote
Before PolicyLink, Ferchil Ramos was the digital media and creative strategist for the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties for five years. There he developed a layered approach to combining art and activism that makes an impact on the city and the communities where he lives and serves. Born in the Philippines and raised in the Bay Terraces neighborhood of southeastern San Diego, Ferchil continues to use his experience to find ways to navigate the ever-changing digital landscape with a unique lens and a sense of civic duty and culture.
5/15 Keynote
5/15 Keynote
Candice Custodio-Tan, a community organizer for nearly 25 years, is a "People's Hip Hop DJ Scholar" who was born and raised in Queens, NY. She is a Queer disabled Filipinx-Pin[a/x]y-American, Writer, Poet, Theater Performer, Educator, Hip Hop Feminist, and Community Organizer. She is also known as DJ Kuttin Kandi and is widely regarded as one of the most legendary and accomplished womxn DJs in the world. In addition, she is a known Pop-Culture Political Essayist and has written for several anthologies and blogs including as a Guest Contributing Writer for Colorlines, Racialicious, etc.
Kandi is the Co-Editor of the book, Empire of Funk: Hip Hop & Representation in Filipino/a America, and is currently co-editing the new anthology on Pin[a/x]y Activism, releasing in Spring 2022.
5/15 Keynote
5/15 Keynote
Hari Alluri (he/him/siya) is the author of The Flayed City (Kaya, 2017). A recipient of the 2020 Leonard A. Slade, Jr. Fellowship for Poets of Color and the Federico Moramarco Poetry International Teaching Prize, he is an editor at Locked Horn Press. Alluri has been awarded grants by the BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and National Film Board of Canada and fellowships from Las Dos Brujas, Port Townsend, and VONA/Voices writers workshops.
His work appears in the Watch Your Head: Writers & Artists Respond to the Climate Crisis (Coach House, 2020) and Poetry in Voice / Les voix de la poésie (2019) anthologies, as well in Apogee, Poemeleon, Poetry, Four Way Review, Tinderbox, and elsewhere. Hari’s recent collaborations are through BIPOC Writing Community, Community Building Art Works, The Cultch & Soft Cedar, The Digital Sala, and Massy Books.
Photo credit (and nails) by Lalahon Flow
Teach-In | How Environment Shapes Personalities
Maritza Garcia
Maritza Garcia
Maritza is a student here at San Diego Mesa College. This is her first year here and hopes to one day transfer to CSUSM with a major in Nursing. She is a first-generation student and strives to one day be able to give back to her family who has sacrificed everything for her. During her free time, she enjoys going on hikes, baking, and spending as much time as she can with her family. She is very family-oriented and she loves helping others whenever she can.
Yuritzy Garcia
Yuritzy Garcia
Yuritzy is a Mexican-American student at San Diego Mesa College. She is passionate about uplifting others and trying new things. She joined KAPWA which is a community where she is learning more about struggles within the APIA community, and how to become a better ally. She is currently majoring in Elementary Education with hopes of transferring to SDSU. She wants to one day teach a classroom where everyone feels comfortable and is accepting of each other's differences. She lives by the quote “start each day with a grateful heart.” <3
Panel | Cross-Community Solidarity
Jay Banda
Jay Banda
Jay is an ally to the AAPI community. His goal is to uplift voices and use the privileges that he has to do so. He is Mexican-American and my family are immigrants from Mexico. Jay wishes to support and work to better himself as an ally and a person overall. He loves movies and comic books. He is thankful for this opportunity to learn and be a part of KAPWA. This has been such a wonderful experience, and he hopes to share what he learns with more people.
Michelle Gutierrez
Michelle Gutierrez
Michelle is a proud Cachanilla and Californian from Mexicali, Baja California, and Calexico, California. This is her first year at San Diego Mesa Community College, and she is planning to transfer to a four-year to finish as a Biomedical Engineer to help children with disabilities. She enjoys helping others and raising the voices of those who can't, which is what got her into the medical field. Michelle loves to drink coffee, read, watch movies and go on walks. She also loves hanging out with friends and spending a lot of time with family.
Helene Lara
Helene Lara
Helene is a student at San Diego Mesa College majoring in Biology. Her long-term goal is to be a veterinarian. With that, she aims to transfer to SDSU, where she will focus more on Zoology. Being a Filipina immigrant, she spends most of her time attending to her duties as the eldest daughter of the family. At her leisure, she likes to cook and try out food from different cuisines. Aside from food, she is also passionate about writing poems.
Maya Angelene Poblete
Maya is a Filipina-American Culinary Arts Major at Mesa College. She is a first-year with hopes to transfer to a 4-year institute after obtaining an associate degree. Throughout the pandemic, she has spent most of her time exploring Filipino culture through cooking and baking. While her dream is to travel the world and explore different cultures through culinary experiences, her main goal is to one day own a successful Filipino bakery and eatery to honor and give back to her family and the community she grew up in.
Nara Sagale
Nara Sagale
Senara is a first year college student at San Diego Mesa College. She is currently majoring in Business Administration with the long term goal of working in the hospitality industry. Senara plans to transfer to finish my Bachelor’s degree at California State University, Long Beach. Her inspiration for why she is furthering my education comes from those came before her who did not get to live out their dreams. Senara is a part of K2 of the Kapwa Learning Community and a member of the Asian Pacific Diversity Club at Mesa.
Alisandra Ramirez
Alisandra Ramirez
Alisandria, who usually goes by “Ali”, is a Brazilian, Mexican, and Filipina first-year college student. This is her second semester at Mesa where she is getting her general ed credits. She is planning to transfer to SDSU or UCLA after her second year at Mesa. Ali is studying cinematic arts in hopes of becoming a film editor for the big screens. She used to attend a film program called the Cymer Youth Institute where she created her first official short films. Her hobbies include editing, skateboarding, listening to music, art, hanging out with friends, and adventuring.
Teach-In | Mental Health Stigma
Michelle Flores
Michelle Flores
Michelle Flores is a first-year college student majoring in Interior Design at Mesa College. One of her career goals is to design sustainable eco-friendly homes for the homeless & people in need. She is passionate about advocating for the mental health community as she is very vocal with her own anxiety disorder- in hopes of empowering those around her who may be going through their own struggles with mental illness. Michelle is fervent & expressive about a variety of social movements, including but not limited to the Black lives matter movement, Anti-Asian hate movement, & the environmental movement.
Rosela Mae Gallardo
Rosela Mae Gallardo
Rosela was born in the Philippines but immigrated to the U.S two years ago. Being the former lead student researcher of the investigatory project entitled “PoCaRice (Pork fat, Avocado pits, and Rice husk) Biodegradable Plastic Sheet” and a 2018 Metrobank-MTAP-Math Challenge Regionals Finalist, she is aiming to utilize her skills in Research and Mathematics to design innovative medical devices and machines for the development of the healthcare industry. Currently, she is a first-generation engineering student at San Diego Mesa College. She aspires to transfer to UC Berkeley and major in Bio/Biomedical Engineering.
Christina Kwan
Christina Kwan
Christina is a first-year student at Mesa College. She is passionate about learning the stories, history, and the varied perspectives of other people. Growing up, she was exposed to diverse communities of people with very different views on other people and life itself. While she could not always agree with their perspectives, she became interested in why people had such distinct interpretations of the world and the psychology behind their actions. Today she continues to be interested in people's differing perspectives and their reasonings for their own actions.
Panel | The Creative Ates
Writer & Co-Author
Dr. Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American writer living in Tacoma, Washington. She has degrees in English from UC Berkeley (BA) and the University of Washington, Seattle (MA, PhD). Her poems, essays and interviews have appeared in Narratively, The Rumpus, Full Grown People, Heron Tree, HYPHEN, Kartika Review, and Blue Cactus Press. Dr. Nimura has essays in the anthologies Ghosts of Seattle Past (2018) and New California Writing (Heyday 2012). At UC Berkeley, she studied creative writing with Ishmael Reed and Gary Soto. She has read at the Looseleaf Reading series (Seattle), King’s Books and Blue Cactus Press (Tacoma), and the San Francisco Public Library. Dr. Nimura is a 2016 Artists Up grant recipient and a 2019 GAP Award recipient.
Artist & Managing Director
Rizzhel Javier is a San Diego based artist and educator. Her work explores topics in identity, memory, culture and human relationships. As a first generation Filipino-American, Rizzhel uses her art practice to dissect her identity, and that of the larger Filipino-American community through the research and creation of art projects. Her art is grounded in social practice, with the intent to engage the public and build a dialogue on topics that are often difficult to discuss or understand. Rizzhel holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Humboldt State University and a Master of Fine Arts from San Diego State University.
Kaileykielle Hoga
Kaileykielle Hoga
Student Moderator
Kaileykielle Hoga is a Filipina-American student at Mesa College. She is passionate about music, theater, sound design, and sharing stories. She currently works as the main editor for Illuminating Diversity, a podcast dedicated to empowering women of color in every episode. This semester, her short documentary theater play "How We Talk About Racism" was produced in City College's New Play Festival. In her free time, she enjoys being co-captain of Hestia Winterguard. She hopes to transfer to UCSD to major in Interdisciplinary Computing Arts for Music Technology.
Panel | Amplifying Voices
Andrew Arevalo
Andrew Arevalo
Andrew is a Filipino-American, first-year student at San Diego Mesa College. He is currently majoring in Environmental Engineering and hopes to later transfer to UCSD or UCI after community. Last semester, he attended the SpeakOut Youth Summit, a virtual summit focused on fighting racial injustice and furthering leadership development in students and young adults. From the event, he became inspired, which led him into creating a Teach-In presentation on Inclusion and raising awareness on the importance of providing equal access, opportunities, and resources for people and students with Special Needs/Learning Disabilities.
Michelle Gutierrez
Michelle Gutierrez
Michelle is a proud Cachanilla and Californian from Mexicali, Baja California, and Calexico, California. This is her first year at San Diego Mesa Community College, and she is planning to transfer to a four-year to finish as a Biomedical Engineer to help children with disabilities. She enjoys helping others and raising the voices of those who can't, which is what got her into the medical field. Michelle loves to drink coffee, read, watch movies and go on walks. She also loves hanging out with friends and spending a lot of time with family.
Kaileykielle Hoga
Kaileykielle Hoga
Kaileykielle is a Filipina-American student at Mesa College. She is passionate about music, theater, sound design, and sharing stories. She currently works as the main editor for Illuminating Diversity, a podcast dedicated to empowering women of color in every episode. This semester, her short documentary theater play "How We Talk About Racism" was produced in City College's New Play Festival. In her free time, she enjoys being co-captain of Hestia Winterguard. She hopes to transfer to UCSD to major in Interdisciplinary Computing Arts for Music Technology.
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