Kina is the program director of Gender Hive.

Kina is a parent of two children, one of whom attends school in the Bend-La Pine Schools District and another who will (hopefully) begin Kindergarten in Bend-La Pine Schools’ phenomenal Spanish Dual Immersion program. Kina and their siblings are first-generation college graduates. Their father enlisted in the U.S. Air Force directly after graduating from high school and later retired after serving for more than 20 years. Kina’s mother emigrated from the Philippines and eventually earned her GED while raising three children and working full-time. Kina has always been acutely aware of the dedication, perseverance and sacrifices that had been made on their behalf. It is this grit and these values that drive Kina’s passion for quality public education and access for all.

As someone who is biracial and part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, Kina has been on the receiving end of discrimination and harassment. They know what it feels like to be excluded. On the contrary, Kina has also had pivotal moments when Black and Brown teachers saw something in them and went out of their way to ensure Kina felt heard, seen, and empowered. These moments of belonging fuel Kina’s passion for elevating youth in our community. Students experience these remarkable moments at celebrations like Juneteenth and at programs like the Youth Equity Leadership Summit. This is why Kina volunteers their time to plan and host these life-changing events for students.

George is the director of More Equitable Democracy. Prior to this, he served as program director for the Joyce Foundation’s Democracy Program and co-chair of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. Cheung was also executive director of the Win/Win Network, an affiliate of State Voices, and founder/executive director of Equal Rights Washington, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization.

He holds a master’s in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University.

Tamia came to grassroots organizing after being diagnosed with breast cancer and post-traumatic stress. Her journey back to wellness without adequate resources taught her that the people most impacted by injustice must also be the ones who identify the problems and implement the solutions and inspired her to found a nonprofit in 2017, PDX Alliance for Self-Care, focused on improving access to care for her community. Her work during the pandemic, protests, and wildfire response of 2020 connected her with an invaluable mutual aid network and a vast community of first responders, healthcare providers, and activists. That experience continues to inform her consulting work at the intersection of health equity and climate justice.

Tamia finds joy in mentoring young people and helping BIPoC, LGBTQIA+, and neurodiverse students access educational and leadership opportunities. She is a passionate healthcare advocate in her role as a Community Health Center Board Chair and founding board member of BIPoC Paramedics of Portland.

Tamia is a die-hard fan of the one and only North London football team, Arsenal Gunners. She also enjoys dancing, gardening, hiking, doing yoga, and cooking for her loved ones in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Judith (jee-deet) is an Afro-Haitian American, female identifying, cis-gender, queer licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She currently resides in the lands of the Northern Paiutes, the Wascos, and the Warm Springs bands. Judith has gained a lot of experience in the field of mental health and continues to challenge her learning and education through seeking support in decolonizing mental health and the way she provides services, creates, teaches and supervises. She is also a university faculty member and is currently a doctoral candidate in a Marriage and Family Doctorate program specializing in program development focusing on increasing parent engagement with adolescents in residential treatment. Judith has years of experience working with outpatient clients through her private practice, Triune Health & Wellness, providing clinical supervision and development in the areas of systemic therapy and healing justice for mental health professionals seeking licensure, and working in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Programs as a Nature-Based therapist and Family Program Manager for parents with adolescents in residential treatment. Judith is Program Director and Operations for Liberation Pathways Healing Space which focuses on seeding liberation through remembering, connecting, and healing for historically marginalized populations. For pleasure and joy, Judith enjoys Caribbean music and dance, singing and participating in community theater, traveling internationally and taking time to rest!

Ubaldo works as a community organizer with Columbia Riverkeeper in Hood River, conducting community outreach on clean water while promoting equity, inclusion, and diversity. Ubaldo has been an active member in the Latinx community in the Columbia Gorge, participating in projects that promote awareness on issues that are relevant to Latinxs in Oregon and Washington. In the last 15 years, he has launched and participated in multiple projects benefiting the Latinx community, including the local community radio station Radio Tierra. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking, fishing, and hiking in the Columbia Gorge.

Ricardo Luján-Valerio is Portland City Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s Transition Liaison and Policy Director. Ricardo’s background covers immigration, education, election, and criminal justice policy. He previously served as Director of Advocacy at Latino Network, Policy Associate for the ACLU of Oregon, and as Legislative Director for the Oregon Student Association. Ricardo has been a leader in the passage of various state legislative priorities, such as HB 2015 (Driver Licenses for All) and SB 1008 (Youth Sentencing Reform). Most recently, he was a co-architect of the Oregon Worker Relief Fund, a multi-million-dollar disaster relief program for Oregon’s immigrant community. He previously served as Vice Chair of the City of Portland’s Open and Accountable Elections Commission. He was born in Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico, and graduated from Southern Oregon University with a BS in Business and a certificate in nonprofit management.

As a former elected tribal leader and experienced professional, Willa brings a unique blend of expertise in consulting, nonprofit leadership, and community advocacy. Through her company, Willa Powless Consulting, LLC, Willa offers a distinctive Indigenous perspective, specializing in grant writing, research, and strategic community engagement with Indigenous populations.

Willa is also the founder of two nonprofit organizations: Little Sister focuses on promoting safety and responsible decision-making, while Honor the Treaty of 1864 is dedicated to safeguarding tribal rights and resources. Both organizations reflect her commitment to advocating for positive change and empowering communities.

In addition to consulting and nonprofit work, Willa is developing Ancient Lure, a fishing company focused on promoting equal access to fishing waterways and conservation. Ancient Lure will soon offer high-quality fishing gear, educational workshops, and local specialty products, fostering a more inclusive and sustainable community around our shared waterways.

With a background in tribal governance and a strong academic foundation in Organizational Leadership and Legal Studies, Willa is well-equipped to drive initiatives that foster meaningful social impact. She is passionate about empowering others, advocating for tribal communities, and creating sustainable solutions that benefit both Indigenous and broader communities.

Julia (“Yulia Pshedvorsky”) is the lead research consultant at the Marie Equi Center. Julia’s work focuses on advancing health equity, inclusion, and justice for queer and trans people and communities, particularly LGBTQ people who experience multiple intersecting forms of marginalization. Julia has experience in public health research, community activism, and healthcare training/consulting. Julia also designs, implements, and evaluates equity actions and initiatives at institutional and systemic levels.

Beyond the professional: Julia emigrated from Poland as a teenager and has lived in Portland for the past 5 years. They’re queer, genderfluid/nonbinary, neurodivergent, and have a cognitive disability. They’re white and benefit from white privilege. Julia has experienced houselessness and poverty but has greater class privilege now due to their education. Julia loves to travel and has a preposterous number of houseplants.

Abigail is the first generation of her family born in the USA to Filipino parents. Her paternal grandfather survived the Bataan death march and, via creative use of the GI Bill, in one generation shifted from subsistence rice farming in the rural Philippines to a family of teachers, lawyers, accountants, and nurses on three continents. And one granddaughter (me) whose vocation in life defies her family’s abilities to encapsulate in one word. 

Based in Portland, Oregon, Abigail has lived and worked over the past twenty years in the Philippines, India, Senegal, Kenya, Italy, Peru and Ecuador, with organizations like the United Nations, the Wildlife Conservation Society, The Lemelson Foundation, the Government of Uruguay, Portland State University and IMPAQTO, a social enterprise accelerator in Ecuador. She loves working in partnership with diverse groups of people to learn, co-create and re-imagine together the systems we work in. This is often through supporting the conditions that allow for power-sharing in philanthropy, community-led philanthropy, mentoring and coaching nonprofit and for-profit social venture leaders, and facilitation of global community impact networks organizing for racial and climate justice, healing, and thriving people and planet. She has also worked as a professional cellist and gymnastics instructor. Abigail earned a M.Sc. in Environmental Science from Yale, hold a B.Sc. in International Politics from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and a certificate in International Law from the Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar in Senegal. 

She love languages, is fluent in English, Spanish and French, and knows enough to get into trouble in Portuguese, Italian, Tagalog, Ilocano (Philippine dialects) and Wolof (Sénégal). When not in front of a computer, she grows food in her garden, sings with her teenagers only slightly off-key, accompanied by various musical instruments cluttering up the family room, dances with her husband or finds ways to get outside.