I was born and raised in Oakland and am proud to call myself an Oakland native. My sister and I grew up in a single-parent household. I have always admired and been inspired by the amazing strength, resilience, and good spirit of my immigrant mother who paved a way for herself here in this country despite the odds. I recognize our story as part of the larger fabric of the stories of many other immigrant and working class families here in Oakland, and that is part of what has made me so passionate about preserving and protecting the culture and community in this city amidst this time of rapid change and displacement. After working in corporate business management and strategy for 7 years in San Jose, I returned to my hometown and started working as a consultant and freelancer, with a focus on serving local community business growth. I assisted in the start-up phase of several small businesses. My first foray into business ownership came in 2014 when my wife and I took over operations of a restaurant that my mother had worked at for 20 years. We made sure to keep the long-time downtown Oakland fixture true to its roots by prioritizing the needs of the many loyal and long-time customers who have lived and worked here for decades. We are now a happily women-owned and operated family enterprise. In addition to consulting and operating the restaurant, for three years I also worked as the logistics director for some of the largest queer events in the Bay Area. I am passionate about supporting the queer community, and am especially mindful toward the doubly marginalized QTPOC (Queer & Trans People of Color) community that I include myself in. This was the drive behind opening Qulture Collective: to hold safe, accessible space in downtown Oakland that would become a community platform to share and prioritize our voices and our stories as well as a place for folks to come together, to strengthen our various causes and goals. I want us all to succeed, and I believe that having a common place to gather and connect will help us to grow. I want to put power into the hands of our community.