People & Partners

When did you start working with Greater Tacoma Community Foundation (GTCF)?

11/01/2021

Briefly describe what you do in your role with GTCF

I help GTCF build meaningful relationships with community and support the fostering of systems centered in equity, sustainability, and anti-racism.

What is the most exciting part of your role with GTCF?

Learning!! This is my first role in the Philanthropy world and I'm truly excited to learn as much as I can from the expertise my colleagues have to offer. I dream of a radically connected, equitable, and just future for the community I call home and know that my time with GTCF is going to help create that future across Pierce County.

What other jobs or positions have you held?

Before joining GTCF, I was the Senior Director of Education Programs at Peace Community Center supporting the implementation of their 2nd grade - college/career programs. I've also served as The Evergreen State College's TRiO Upward Bound Advisor at Lincoln High School where I worked heavily with 9th-12th grade students and their families to navigate high school and higher education. Some other roles I've held include: dishwasher, security, Legal Assistant, Legislative Intern, Campaign Coordinator, grandson, brother, family IT helpdesk, family translator, and unofficial fried chicken connoisseur.

Outside of GTCF, what enjoyable activity do you engage in? What brings you joy?

Spending time outdoors with my puppy, camping, and eating good food with family. I especially love sitting around a bonfire with my friends and pretending I can sing.

What activity, place, or event do you recommend other people check out in Pierce County?

Just as much as I enjoy dreaming about the future of our community, I believe we need to first understand our own past to learn how we got here. Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park, Puyallup Fairgrounds (Camp Harmony), All Lives Are Precious monument, and other historical sites around the county serve as vivid reminders of both the beauty and pain humanity even at the local level, is capable of. Visiting these sites with a lens of racial justice help ground me in the work I do every day in service of a better tomorrow.

What is the most inspiring book that you have read and why?

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui. A graphic novel that illustrates the journey of a refugee family from Vietnam fleeing to the United States while reconciling the political turmoil and violence in Vietnam’s struggle for independence from colonial powers. Being brought up in an education system that whitewashed and minimized the history of my own family, this book allowed me to unpack emotions, memories, and intergenerational trauma I didn't know I carried.