Past Forward

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 Cultura...

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...

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...

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 Kay...

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 ,...

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 work...

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 to...

Wajahat Ali is a Daily Beast columnist, co-host of the "Democracy-ish" podcast, public speaker, recovering attorney, and tired dad of three cute kids. His book Go Back To Where You Came From: And, Other Helpful Recommendations on Becoming American  was published in January 2022 by Norton. He believes in sharing stories that are by us, for everyone: universal narratives told through a culturally sp...

Susan Albert Loewenberg is founder and Producing Director of L.A. Theatre Works, a non-profit media arts and theatre organization. Ms. Loewenberg has produced award-winning radio dramas, plays, and films in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and London. Under her supervision, LATW has created the largest library of plays on audio in the world, garnering numerous awards from the Corporation for Public...

Before developing a passion for middle grade and young adult fiction, Sonia Antaki had several careers—as a professional singer, a financial analyst, a Tony-nominated Broadway producer and an advocate for Arts and Native traditions. Red Dove, Run Through the Fire, Book Three of The Red Dove Trilogy, grew out of Sonia’s own experience of living between worlds, and the desire to bring them together....

Blair Austin was born in Michigan. A former prison librarian, he is a graduate of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan where he won Hopwood awards for Fiction and Essay. He lives in Massachusetts. Dioramas is his first novel. Dioramas Dzanc Books, 2023 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides au...

Chika Unigwe is a celebrated and highly acclaimed Nigerian-born Igbo author, whose honors include winning the Nigeria Literature Prize, the Sylt Fellowship for African Writers, and many other distinctions. Chika is Creative Director of the Awele Creative Trust, and she was a judge for the Man Booker International Prize in 2016. In 2016-2017, she was Bonderman Professor of Creative Writing at Brown...

B. Travis Wright , MPS is a 2022 Colorado Preservation Inc. State Honor Award recipient for his advocacy of Rollins Pass, President of the Board of the Grand County Historical Association, Vice Chair of the Gilpin County Historic Preservation Commission, and has written multiple academic works and published books about Rollins Pass and the Moffat Tunnel. Travis is also co-founder of Preserve Rolli...

Miko Lee is an activist, storyteller and educator. She believes in the power of story to amplify voices. Miko is lead producer of APEX Express on KPFA Radio focused around AAPI activists and artists. She is Director of Programs for Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality and on the National Advisory Committee of Teaching Artists Guild. Miko’s career has been rooted in the nonprofit world, fi...

Aiden Thomas is a trans, Latinx, New York Times Bestselling Author with an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. Originally from Oakland, California, they now make their home in Portland, OR. Aiden is notorious for not being able to guess the endings of books and movies, and organizes their bookshelves by color. Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Ethnic Studies is a series of di...

Kwame Sound Daniels ' feverishly written forthcoming book, the pause and the breath from Atmosphere Press, is a meditation on Black trans identity and ancestry in the form of broken and re-imagined sonnets. Xir current book out now is Light Spun with Perennial Press, a collection of sonnets and free verse exploring queer love and Black American spirituality. the pause and the breath Atmosphere Pre...

Vishavjit Singh  is a cartoonist, writer, performance artist (aka Sikh Captain America) and creator of  Sikhtoons.com based in New York City. He is a public speaker expounding on diversity, inclusion, storytelling and power of art in schools, universities and companies across the nation. He currently works in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in FDNY. Engaging the World: Leading the Conversati...

Manpreet Kaur Kalra (she/her) is a social impact advisor, educator, speaker, podcast host, and activist working to decolonize ethical storytelling. She navigates the intersection of impact communication and sustainable global development. Her activism focuses on the interconnectivity of economic, social, and climate justice.  Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Ethnic Studies is a seri...

Janice Munemitsu is a third-generation Japanese American Sansei. A native of Orange County, California, Janice was raised on the family farm and worked there from age 5 through high school. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and Biola University Institute for Spiritual Formation. Her family name, Munemitsu, 宗 光, means source of light in kanji....

Jerry Almendarez is the Superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District. Almendarez has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Redlands, and a bachelor’s degree in business/finance from Cal State San Bernardino. Almendarez’ career in education spans 27 years, and includes experience as a classroom teacher, an assistant principal and a principal. He has also taug...

Gerald Clarke is an enrolled member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians and lives on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation. When not creating artwork or serving as Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside, Gerald oversees the Clarke family cattle ranch and remains heavily involved in Cahuilla culture. As a visual artist, Gerald has exhibited his work extensively and in numerous...

Evette Davis is the author of  48 States and  Woman King and  Dark Horse , the first two installments of The Dark Horse Trilogy. When she’s not writing novels, Davis dispenses advice to some of the country’s largest corporations, non-profits, and institutions as a consultant and co-owner of BergDavis Public Affairs, an award-winning San Francisco-based public affairs firm. Before establishing her...

As a science writer and medical publisher, Stuart Chapman has written hundreds of articles and created medical journals for physicians on a wide array of clinical and medico-legal topics. During the 1970s, he founded a weekly newspaper in Northern California. A certified Master Gardener, he grows vegetables in Florida with his wife, Vivian. The OCD Chronicles: Fear and Loathing on the Psychiatrist...

Jocelyn Holst Bolster lives in Colorado where she sleeps under a couple cats; plays the singing saw with her band, 2 Star Hotel ; explores the world with her drummer; and loves, above all, reading with her two children every night. Spindrift Love Atmosphere Press, 2022 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a...

Tom David was born and raised in the Detroit area. He worked for a number of years in automotive and medical data analysis before turning to fiction. Delivery Atmosphere Press, 2022 A 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 wit...