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Okinawan, Illocano, Taíno , Cultural Advisor at Bear Root Resource Center

My grandparents are Okinawan, Illocano, and Puerto Rican. My parents are second generation immigrants born on Kauai. These cultures came together on the island of Kauai as immigrant workers for the burgeoning sugar cane industry at the early part of the 20th Century. One grandfather introduced me to my responsibility as an American citizen and I saw a future in politics, until I learned at university that there were other ways to influence the world. I grew up eating all the cuisines and consider myself fortunate in my cultural diversity, although the ‘powers that be’ have chosen to quash whatever they feel “other” is.

Born in San Francisco, we moved to the suburbs in 1965, Concord, CA. This is where I first began experiencing my cultural “otherness.” My sister and I were the first and only girls of color to go to our new elementary school.  This was not my kindergarten class in the city. Everyone was white. I was constantly asked, “What are you?” I learned to speak truth to power as a six-year old. With hands on my hips, I gathered my new friends on the playground and proudly proclaimed the words my mother told me, “I am a cosmopolitan!  I am of the world!” Now that was even more curious. I shot up in popularity for whatever reason, though this was the beginning of me working on my thick skin for what was to come.

I made up my adult life, taking the road less traveled. I made up my major at Berkeley (Foreign Affairs) and left the university after my senior thesis was denied. I chose to focus on intuition instead of intellectualism for a while and would not get my BA degree for 30 years. The profundity of those 30 years without a college degree is still being discovered as I gather the threads for the tapestry I weave.

Brass tacks.  Remember George Plimpton?  I’m the George Plimpton of jobs. I was on a personal mission to become a generalist in a world full of specialists, and rare experiences awaited the curious mind. I have successfully opened the European market to American perfume oil fragrances, owned my own businesses, opened an art gallery existing now for nearly 20 years, run a Christmas tree farm for visiting artists, and built structures. And my all-time favorite job, life as a performing/conceptual artist during my years in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.  

When I left Berkeley, I became a corporate envoy, a bicycle messenger in San Francisco for 3 years where the free spirit in me came alive. It was my first job when I moved to New York City. As a messenger in New York City, we were faced with theMayor’s unjust attempt to prohibit us from using Fifth, Park, and Madison Avenues from 9am-5pm on weekdays. Unbelievable! I wielded my courage, knowledge, and interpersonal/intrapersonal skills to educate the immigrant riders of color to use their voice to remind the city council that we are people first and deserve the right to a livelihood that suits not only our needs, but theeconomic needs of the City as well. We managed to get a hearing with the City Council, and we were prepared.  As diverse a bunch as we were, we were authentic, and we got our message across.  This is who we are, and this is why you can’t close those avenues during our business hours.  Good thing we struck a sensible nerve, something one does not often find in politics these days. Together, we brought dignity to our profession and ourselves in our testimonies to the New York City Council. They listened and understood us.  We knew if that could happen, we would win.  And that we did.

During Covid, I became a member of The Climate RealityProject. As a member of the SF BAY Chapter Climate Justice Team, my commitment to environmental advocacy focuses on the simple human rights to water, land, and sustainable livelihoods based on Indigenous wisdom, since buried by the colonialists. The team has educated me to the injustices served upon the peoples of global south, as first world systems continue to devalue the lives of “others”.  The Climate Justice Team, prides itself on networking to fulfill grass-roots initiatives and government legislation. Land-back initiatives are on the front-burner.

I am honored to serve as a cultural advisor to the Bear Root Resource Center.  Our Mission, Purpose, and Vision are just what the doctor ordered for our wounded society. No one can do this alone, and I am fortunate to have found great human spiritsto work with for beautiful, positive change.  Be the medicine.