I believe that we become with and through the wisdom, guidance, and efforts of those who became before us. Here, I wish to share the names of people whose body of work, values, and legacy have been deeply formative and foundational to my shaping.

Thich Nhat Hanh. Báyò Akómoláfé. Tricia Hersey. Sophie Strand. adrienne maree brown. Kai Cheng Thom. Linda Thai. David Abram. brontë velez. bell hooks. Audre Lorde. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Mia Mingus. Alice Wong. Jennifer Piercy. Pema Chödrön. Viet Thanh Nguyen. Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Octavia Butler. Cole Arthur Riley. Vandana Shiva. Ocean Vuong. Grace Lee Boggs. Mariame Kaba. Joachim-Ernst Berendt. Rubin Naiman. Garth Stevenson. Rupa Marya. Paolo Friere. Angela Davis. Mariame Kaba. James Baldwin. Alok V. Menon.

Lastly, it is with reverence that I also express gratitude to my more-than-human teachers: my inner child, the human body, the natural world, the animals (including my cat), and the great mystery.