1888: The How, The Why

Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies, The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea, Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle, and Love in the Library illustrated by Yas Imamura with more books forthcoming. She has a BA in Studio Art from Scripps College, and an MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco.Yas Imamura is an illustrator of many picture books for children, including Winged Wonders by Meeg Pincus and The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy I. Sanders. She's also a product designer for clients such as Anthropologie, Papyrus, and Sanrio. She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.Medium History explores memories and moments through creativity and expression, capturing the cultural ethos of that time and place through storytelling and representation. Visual material culture, such as art, and other multimodal forms can elicit responses, emotions, and opinions—human expressions, tied to temporal and cultural aesthetics. This program explores how creative mediums provide co

Kiku Hughes is a cartoonist and illustrator based in the Seattle area. Her work has been featured in Beyond Anthology volumes 1 and 2, Short Box #6 and the Alloy Anthology. She creates stories about identity, queer romance and compassionate sci-fi. Displacement is her first graphic novel, and it is a story she's wanted to share for as long as she can remember.Medium History explores memories and moments through creativity and expression, capturing the cultural ethos of that time and place through storytelling and representation. Visual material culture, such as art, and other multimodal forms can elicit responses, emotions, and opinions—human expressions, tied to temporal and cultural aesthetics. This program explores how creative mediums provide context for history beyond dates, and names, and figures.Partnering with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University, this series will explore how comics, comic books, and graphic novels from and about the Japanese American Incarc

Frank Abe is co-author of the new graphic novel on Japanese American resistance to wartime incarceration, We Hereby Refuse (Chin Music Press: A Wing Luke Museum Book). He won an American Book Award for John Okada: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy (University of Washington Press), and made the award-winning PBS documentary, Conscience and the Constitution, on the largest organized camp resistance. He is currently co-editing an anthology for Penguin Classics on The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration.Abe contributed the afterword to Nisei Naysayer: The Memoir of Militant Japanese American Journalist Jimmie Omura (Stanford University Press), contributed a chapter to Frontiers of Asian American Studies (Washington State University Press), and has written for Ishmael Reed’s Konch, The Bloomsbury Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, Amerasia Journal, International Examiner, Nichi Bei Weekly, Rafu Shimpo, and Pacific Citizen, among others.Medium History explores memories and

Angelica Salas joined CHIRLA in 1995 and became CHIRLA’s Executive Director in 1999.  In her role, she has transformed CHIRLA into a mass membership immigrant-led organization that empowers immigrants and their families to win local, state, and national policies that advance their human, civil, and labor rights.  She has grown CHIRLA into one of the nation’s largest and most effective immigrant rights organizations that organize, advocates, educates, and provides legal services to all immigrants.Angelica is a state and national leader in the advocacy for immigration reform and immigrant justice.  She was instrumental in the formation of and serves on the Executive Committee of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) and the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), two of the country’s largest immigrant rights coalitions.She graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in History and a B.A. in Sociology in 1993.  In 2007, Occidental College awarded her an Honorary Doctorate for her many contribution

Rebecca Tortes (Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Assiniboine Sioux) has worked with California tribal populations for over 20 years and recently served as the executive director for the California Indian Basketweavers’ Association (CIBA), a statewide nonprofit working to preserve, promote, and perpetuate California Indian basketweaving traditions.Before joining CIBA, she worked as a tribal administrator, development manager, grant writer, and community liaison for many California-based tribes and tribal nonprofits. In addition, Rebecca has worked as a private consultant to several California tribal communities in developing, funding, and evaluating programs that support California Indigenous control and protection of traditional food systems, water, languages, traditional ecological knowledge, and land.Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts in human development and psychology and her master’s degree in public administration from California State University, San Bernardino, and earned a certificate in professional advanc

Tony Hoang is the Executive Director of Equality California and Silver State Equality and a veteran of the LGBTQ+ equality movement. The son of Vietnam War refugees and the first person in his family to attend college, Tony is a proud first-generation immigrant who grew up understanding the marginalized intersections of sexuality, gender, race and immigration status. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Tony moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California. During college, he interned with the Pacific Council on International Policy and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor before joining Equality California as a field intern in 2009, beginning his long career with the organization.Tony went on to serve as Equality California's Database and Volunteer Manager, Director of Operations, Chief of Staff and Managing Director prior to his selection as Executive Director-designate in 2021. During that time, Tony played a pivotal role in the passage of groundbreaking civil rights legislation in Cali

Skye Patrick is the Library Director of LA County Library, one of the largest public library systems in the nation, serving one of the most diverse populations. She was previously Broward County Library’s Director and held leadership roles at Queens Public Library in New York and San Francisco Public Library.Patrick was appointed to the Executive Board of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), the premier membership association of North America’s leading public library systems, in July 2017. ULC is on the cutting edge of library innovation, and Patrick has joined a dynamic team of leaders and works alongside the board to inspire libraries to evolve and grow.In January 2019, Patrick was named Librarian of the Year by Library Journal, a national publication. The award honors outstanding achievement and accomplishment reflecting the service goals of librarianship, including free access to information for all, encouragement of reading enhancement and expansion of library services to all residents, and strengthening t

Hoang Nguyen is the Director of External Affairs at AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity). Prior to joining AAPI Equity, Hoang served as a policy deputy at the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, which has governing jurisdiction over more than 2 million residents within 20 cities and 23 unincorporated communities in LA County and 25 neighborhoods in LA City. While there, he oversaw a variety of policy and community issues such as immigration, AAPI affairs, older adults, redistricting, Census, and board operations. He was also the district’s representative and liaison for the areas of Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown and Thaitown. Hoang received a BA in Political Science from UCLA.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national

Abdi Soltani has served as the executive director of the ACLU of Northern California since 2009. During his tenure, he has pursued long-term priorities to deepen the ACLU’s presence in the California Central Valley and elevate the ACLU’s voice on state policy at the California state capitol.Abdi has worked directly on a number of ACLU campaigns. Through 2015, he co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy with then Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, where he helped draft the blueprint for safe and equitable legalization of marijuana in California. He has also worked on campaigns for racial justice, criminal justice reform, voting rights, and immigrants’ rights.Beginning in the mid 1990’s, the central arc of Abdi’s career as a civil rights advocate has been the transformation of California from a state that led attacks on civil rights to a state that is at the forefront of advancing equality. As an Iranian-American, Abdi is a champion of the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, educating the public a

Mason Granger is the Deputy Director at Get Lit. Originally from Philadelphia by way of Willingboro, NJ, Mason is a poet with 19+ years of professional experience on stage & in classrooms across 49 states and six countries as part of the performance poetry trio, The Mayhem Poets. In 2014, he created SlamFind, a digital platform to connect fans of poetry videos with the poets & live poetry venues where these videos are born. Connecting the poetry community to itself and the rest of the world continues to be the foundation of his work to this day.Between 2016-2018, Mason was the official videographer for Poetry Slam Inc., producing several iconic poetry videos that continue to garner millions of views across multiple platforms. In the spirit of his mission of always keeping the ‘live’ in ‘live poetry’, he also hosted the weekly PoetNY open mic at Bowery Poetry Club in NYC from 2017-2019 while also serving as Executive Director of Bowery Arts & Science through 2019.Now as a Los Angeles resident in hi

Charles (Chuck) Dickerson III is the founder, Executive Director and Conductor of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. He is also the founder, Executive Director and Conductor of both the South Side Chicago Youth Orchestra, and the Youth Orchestra of Tsakane, South Africa.  He also serves as Director Special Ensembles at California State University, Dominguez Hills, as Director of Music at Rolling Hills United Methodist Church, and as the Choir Director at Leo Baeck Temple in Bel Air, California.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras.  He was recognized in December 2019 as a Professional of the Year by Musical America.He holds a Master of Music Degree with a focus on conducting from California State University, Los Angeles, and degrees from Howard University (B.S.) and American University (J.D.).  He has studied with esteemed Conductors Gustav Meier, Daniel Lewis, and Kenneth Kiesler. He formerly served as Music Director and Conductor of the Southeast Symphony (20

Jacqueline Vogtman won the 2021 Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize for her book Girl Country. Her fiction has appeared in Hunger Mountain, Permafrost, The Literary Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Third Coast, and other journals. A graduate of the MFA program at Bowling Green State University, she is currently Associate Professor of English at Mercer County Community College. She has lived in New Jersey most of her life and resides in a small town surrounded by nature, which she explores with her husband, daughter, and dog. Girl Country is her first book.Girl CountryDzanc Books, 2023A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Past Forward is a curiosity company dedicated to educational accessibility. Our public podcast service, paired with millions of discounted books curated

Stephanie Takaragawa is a cultural anthropologist whose research examines cultural display. Her research broadly focuses on media, art, performance, exhibition, and theme parks and their relationship to racial representation. Much of her work specifically looks at the Japanese-American incarceration during WWII and how that is understood, represented and memorialized in the present. Her teaching areas include cultural anthropology and visual culture, Asian American studies and race and ethnic studies.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded

Brian Niiya is the content director for Densho, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. His professional life has been dedicated to Japanese American public history, having held various positions with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i that have involved managing collections, curating exhibitions, developing public programs, and producing videos, books, and websites. He has published many articles on Japanese American history in a variety of academic and mainstream publications and is the editor of the online Densho Encyclopedia.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, nationa

Taryn Palumbo serves as the Executive Director of Orange County Grantmakers, a regional association of philanthropic funders in Orange County. As Executive Director, Taryn provides strategic leadership, oversees and executes programming, communication, member services and community engagement, and supports the operations of the organization. Taryn joined OCG as a part-time Executive Administrator in January 2017 and was promoted to Executive Director in February 2018.Prior to joining OCG, Taryn held roles in public policy, government affairs, education, small business engagement and community relations. She has also served as a consultant with United Way Orange County, helping to launch UpSkill OC, a middle skills job initiative and with The Olin Group, supporting a variety of nonprofit clients.Before moving back home to Orange County, Taryn spent four years with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, first as their Manager of Public Policy and later as their Director of Strategic Partnerships. In this role s

Keith Swayne, along with his wife, Judy, co-founded the Keith and Judy Swayne Family Foundation. Prior to retirement from his business career, he served as CEO of Case Swayne Co. a major developer and processor of specialty sauces and seasonings for the food service and industrial markets and the successor company, International Food Solutions, a subsidiary of BestFoods/Unilever. Since retirement he has remained active in the community, and business, serving on a number of private company boards and non-profit boards, including, most recently, as Chair of the Orange County Community Foundation Board of Governors.Keith, in 1997, was a regional winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was recognized by the California Association of Human Rights Organizations for his work in the Human Rights field. He was named Philanthropist of the Year at National Philanthropy Day in 2019. He has received numerous other awards for his work in the non-profit field.He has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Univers

Natalie J. Graham, a native of Gainesville, Florida, earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Florida and Ph.D. in American Studies at Michigan State University as a University Distinguished Fellow. Since moving to Orange County in 2013, Natalie has coordinated art-centered community events, workshops, and readings for hundreds of participants. She is Production Director of KayJo Creatives (@KayJoCreatives), an artistic event planning company; Director of the Institute of Black Intellectual Innovation (@IBIICSUF) at Cal State Fullerton; and an award-winning author and performer who has toured nationally with her collection of poems, Begin with a Failed Body. In August 2021, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Orange County.Adjust Accordingly: Placing Equity into Practice is a series of discussions about personal experiences of inequity and how industries, organizations, and people are working to move equity forward.Each conversation will highlight the challenges, opportunities, and strategies

Lindsey Spindle serves as President of the Samueli Family Philanthropies and Chief Operating Officer of H&S Ventures which oversees all the Samueli Family’s for-profit and not-for-profit activities. The philanthropic entities operating under the oversight of H&S Ventures include the Samueli Foundation, the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, the San Diego Gulls Foundation, the Irvine Ice Foundation, and The Rinks Foundation.Spindle was President of The Jeff Skoll Group, where she connected and advised Mr. Skoll’s entrepreneurial portfolio of philanthropic and commercial organizations that include the impact entertainment company Participant, Capricorn Investment Group, and the Skoll Foundation. She was the first-ever Chief Communications and Brand Officer of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit focused on ending childhood hunger in America through its groundbreaking No Kid Hungry campaign.Before focusing on domestic hunger eradication, Spindle spent nearly 20 years in health care communications, policy, and

Carlos Perea is an immigrant rights advocate and Director of the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, a collaboration of movement academics and organizers. His work has focused on building the political power of undocumented immigrant communities in Orange County through community organizing, coalition building, advocacy campaigns and policy change. Some of the efforts he has worked on to address immigration enforcement along community and system stakeholders include Santa Ana’s Sanctuary Ordinance and Universal Representation Program. Carlos is also a public policy and strategy development consultant, he has supported local initiatives including the OC Opportunity Initiative and OC Grantmakers. He currently serves on Santa Ana’s Measure X Citizen Oversight Committee, which reviews the annual revenue and expenditures of funds from the tax authorized by voters of the city.Adjust Accordingly: Placing Equity into Practice is a series of discussions about personal experiences of inequity and how i

Tracy La is the co-founder and Executive Director of VietRISE. Raised by Vietnamese refugees in a large working class family, Tracy brings in 9 years of experience as a campaign strategist, organizer, and policy advocate who has built campaigns alongside community members for freedom from ICE detention and for immigrant and housing justice policies that strengthen protections and self-advocacy tools for renters and people facing deportation. At VietRISE, Tracy directs the organization’s campaigns, programs, cultural strategy, and operations. Prior to VietRISE, Tracy was a youth organizer and led campaigns for immigrant justice and to build electoral power for youth of color. As a student at UCI, Tracy was the elected Associated Students president where she co-developed the largest student-run voter registration program in Orange County in 2016. In 2018, she co-founded VietRISE. Tracy holds two B.A.s in Social Policy & Public Service and Political Science from UCI. She serves on the Advisory Board of the H