R2W Represent 2 Witness: contact

"Made in Cambodia, raised in Los Angeles, and now living in San Francisco, I'm 20 years old and learning to be in love with womanhood and embrace my sun-kissed skin. I'm passionate about women's liberation. I love home-cooked meals and camping. One day, I want to combine my love for food with my passion for women's liberation. I don't like buying anything that I think I can make myself. This includes everything from food to artwork. If you go shopping with me, you'll probably hear me say, 'No, don't waste your money - I'll make one for you,' all day. This is probably because my family grew up really poor and we had to make things ourselves."

Sophay coordinates the Le Afi Ua Mu program.

Luse Pesaleli
R2W Program Associate, CLI Intern 2004-2007
chicochic2004@yahoo.com

"I am SAMOAN. My identity is defined by my culture - brown skin, working class, woman. Being identified and categorized mostly with my culture, I struggle to let it define even a little bit of me. I share this love hate relationship with my culture. My culture is beautiful and versatile, bringing together Samoans from all over the world. Our culture thrives of Patriarchal and so does religion for that matter. Women standing behind their husbands, silenced because her authority is not authentic or valid except for in the household. I see this injustice at church, in my family, and with other Samoan youth. I walk in the dark spots of my mother's shadow, her actions and silence have defined me for most of my life. Now learning and un-learning the role of women that has been enforced by culture and supported by religion, I feel and think different. What does that look like? Taking chances to have a voice and share it with youth in autalavou."

Luse is an active church member, youth leader, and Sunday school teacher at the United Church of Christ Viadolorosa Samoan Congregational Church of Samoa in Modesto. She attended Modesto Junior College and recieved her Associate degree in Transfer Studies.

Eager to try new tools to enhance her leadership skills, R2W was her outlet. She joined R2W as a high school participant in the R2W Summer Youth Leadership Institute and participated in the Congregational Leaders Internship for college-age students and is the newest addition to the R2W staff.

Luse coordinates R2W community outreach and R2W Fridays.

Lauren Quock
R2W Program Associate, CLI Intern 2004-2006
lquock@psr.edu
510.849.8238

"I am a third generation Chinese American community artist/teacher. My grandparents were born in China. My mom grew up in a shotgun house in a poor Black neighborhood in Vicksburg, Mississippi before desegregation and my dad grew up in a one-room apartment in a narrow Chinatown alley."

Lauren grew up attending the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown, San Francisco and, prior to joining the PANA R2W staff, worked with Asian American children and youth at Donaldina Cameron House, coordinating the bilingual afterschool program, training youth peer counselors, and counseling children who had witnessed domestic violence.

After earning her undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, she was inspired by study of the Mexican Mural Movement to use art to give voice to stories left out of traditional textbooks and to help everyday people see themselves as active participants in and makers of history. She has facilitated the creation of community murals wiith middle school students of color in San Francisco public schools, with young women in juvenile hall, and youth in the R2W Summer Institute. She is also an active participant in the Network on Religion and Justice for Asian and Pacific Islander Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people and facilitates workshops in Asian American churches and other settings to initiate conversations about LGBT experiences and injustices perpetuated by the church.

Lauren coordinates the Congregational Leaders Internship and maintains the R2W website.

Michael James
PANA Director of Youth Programs
mjames@psr.edu
510.849.8202

Inspired by the work of the late Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, Michael has worked as a teacher and writer developing a pedagogy for critical consciousness for nearly 30 years. His work with the urban working class in the US parallels popular education activity in Latin America and Africa. He trained briefly for the ministry at McCormick Theological Seminary (1976-78) and was later mentored by Dr. Freire while doing educational projects that generated political consciousness, moral responsibility, and active participation among youth of color, trade union members, housing project organizers, and other grassroots leaders. Michael has also worked as a health educator, mayor's aide, and labor organizer. A native of San Francisco's Fillmore and Chinatown districts, he is the proud son of "an African American autoworker and a Nisei homemaker." He is a great cook.

Rev. Deborah Lee
PANA Program Director and R2W Spiritual Director
dlee@psr.edu
510.849.8260

"I am Chinese-American and Chinese-Indonesian American. I was born here and grew up in Ohio – a place that did not have very many Asians or Pacific Islanders. This helped me learn to bridge to a lot of cultures and different kinds of people. However, I sure am glad God helped me find a way to California. I am a mother and a United Church of Christ minister – that means I work for God. Theology means talking about the things that really matter -- so I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about life, love, the world, faith, etc. My role is to help foster this temporary “church” or faith community that we are forming and to help strengthen and support each of you on your spiritual path at this particular time in your life. For me faith, action, creating justice, self healing, and the powerful experience of being part of a community are all part of God’s saving and loving work in this world."