Asian American Leadership
Forum for Youth
WORKSHOPS.
(2:15 to 3:15)
Hi everyone! Stay tuned for more details!
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Noël Um
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Noël Um, M.A. is a Ph.D. student at Columbia University and Teachers College studying Anthropology and Education. She is interested in im/migration, mobilities, resettlement education, citizenship, trauma, critical pedagogies and DPRK-ROK relations. Her teaching appointments have been in the Education, Anthropology, and East Asian Studies departments at Columbia, and the International and Transcultural Studies department at Teachers College.
Ping Chong & Company
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Ping Chong and Company creates theater and art that reveal beauty, invention, precision, and a commitment to social justice. Founded in New York City in 1975 by leading theatrical innovator and National Medal of Arts recipient Ping Chong, the company engages multigenerational and interdisciplinary artists to build on, and expand, Ping Chong’s singular and visionary body of work. The company’s work is centered on innovation, collaboration, and community engagement. Across nearly five decades, the New York City-based company has created over 100 original theater productions, ranging from intimate interview-based works to large-scale multidisciplinary projects featuring puppets, performers, and full sound and projection scores. Reaching audiences throughout New York, the United States, and the world, Ping Chong and Company transcends boundaries, exploring interconnectedness of cultures and how multifaceted identities are addressed in society. Today, the company is a highly adaptive and supportive home base for multigenerational, interdisciplinary artists with generative theater practices.
Zara Ahmed (they/them) from Desi Rainbow
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Zara Ahmed (they/them) is a non-binary Pakistani entrepreneur, educator, and advocate for inclusion and equity. They currently work as the Academy Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager at a film studio in San Francisco called BAYCAT and are a volunteer LGBTQ+ Support Group Facilitator with Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies. During their time with DRPA, Zara has connected with a network of queer-affirming Desis & allies while offering representation to young LGBTQ+ South Asians. Zara is passionate about uplifting community and celebrating queer joy!