4 Awesome AAPI Community Organizers to Support
Because we all belong to each other.
In the spirit of community and AAPI Heritage month, I wanted to uplift 4 awesome AAPI community organizers who have reminded me that I am a Buddha and that I can always be my authentic self. I am grateful they exist and for all the work they are doing. Please follow and support them, trust me when I say they will remind you of that as well. And read how they and others have helped me find a sense of belonging and understand the deep teachings of sangha and community.
Meesha Sharma, she/they | Website, Instagram
Meesha (they/she) is a diasporic Kashmiri and Punjabi puttar, yoga teacher, artist, disruptor, spiritual seeker, and community organizer. They have dedicated their life to ancestral healing work and queering the healing justice space. They believe communal care, abolition, and land back, are paths to co-creating a paradigm shift on Earth towards more justice and peace for all. Meesha and I met through Joyful Liberation Collective. Together we held space, practiced yoga in the streets of NYC, built community at the intersection of social justice and mindfulness. They taught me how to be fearless in the face of oppression and to never shy away from feelings of otherness. She reminds me that Queer joy is real because it’s something I experience with her every time we spend time together. Go practice with her.
What they want to uplift right now:
Peace and unity between India and Pakistan and a Free Kashmir. Where all Kashmiris get to live on the land in peace, regardless of religion caste or creed. More info here.
Jemarc Axinto, they/she/he | Website, Instagram, Substack
Jemarc Axinto (They/She/He) is a Filipinx, Nonbinary, Trauma Recovery Coach, Trauma Educator, and Wellness Consultant with a deep practice rooted in Tibetan Buddhism and a holistic view of spirituality and wellness. They have dedicated over ten years of their life to the actualization of a mind, body, spirit balanced no longer withheld by trauma, labels, and roles. They’ve turned this deep study into an alchemical process to empower everyone they meet into actualizing their most authentic selves and radically rewiring their brains to heal trauma at its root in the nervous system. Their work has allowed them to support thousands of people globally both as a Trauma Recovery Coach and for Nonprofit and Forprofit organizations as a Wellness Consultant. Jemarc’s unique approach to healing is one that does not reject anyone so long as they keep their hearts open to the Brahmaviharas. They believe that healing isn’t about restricting oneself to one path, but rather about finding your own path on the path. Jemarc and I are new friends but feel like soul sisters. I love how they show up in the world — with laughter and a free spirit. There’s not many people I can totally nerd out on Buddhism and pop culture about but I can with Jemarc, often leaving our conversations with much insight and a fresh perspective on these age-old teachings.
What they want to uplift:
InQueery: A Queer Leadership Retreat (June 13 - 15, 2025). More info here.
This Retreat is for...
Aspiring and Emerging Queer Leaders – Folks stepping into leadership roles for the first time, whether in activism, community organizing, corporate settings, or creative industries.
Queer Changemakers & Activists – Individuals working on social justice, advocacy, and community-building who need support, networking, and renewal.
LGBTQ+ Professionals & Entrepreneurs – Business owners, executives, and professionals who want to cultivate leadership skills while staying true to their queer identity.
Healers, Coaches & Mental Health Practitioners – Therapists, life coaches, and wellness practitioners who serve LGBTQ+ communities and want to deepen their leadership impact.
Artists, Writers & Creatives – Queer storytellers and visionaries looking to harness leadership within their creative work and community influence.
For more on the incredible work Jemarc does around the globe, follow them join their email list.
Adriana DiFazio, she/her | Website, Substack
Adriana DiFazio is a Buddhist meditation teacher, mentor, and facilitator. She helps meditators integrate their social activism and spiritual practice. Adriana holds a Masters of Divinity in Buddhism from Union Theological Seminary in NYC. Her dharma practice is rooted in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Adriana and I recently reconnected after I discovered her writing on Substack. One of the pillars of Joyful Liberation Collective was exploring the intersection of mindfulness and social justice. Often our modern spiritual communities avoid tough topics like oppression and harm and how to practice activism through a spiritual lens. I find that Adriana’s writing stirs up the deep wisdom in my gut and inspires me to be courageous. I deeply appreciate her work and she reminded that we are not alone in building a compassionate society through Buddhist teachings.
What she want to uplift:
Engaged Dharma Book Club
Bridge your political and spiritual values in community
Bi-monthly dharma-informed learning on texts related to ethics, activism, post-capitalism, and social change. Connect, meditate, and discuss with other justice-oriented meditation and Buddhist practitioners.
Steven Wakabayashi, he/him | Website, Instagram, Linkedin
Steven Wakabayashi (he/him) is a queer first-generation, Taiwanese, Japanese-American, based in New York City, and creative director, changemaker, and founder of mission-driven organizations empowering historically marginalized communities within design, tech, and mindfulness industries. After leading creative teams at many notable brands and agencies including Apple, Google, Walmart, Huge, and Razorfish, he is now creating pathways for queer BIPOC creatives into the design industry through QTBIPOC Design, creating safe spaces for BIPOC communities within mindfulness through Mindful Sights, and designing equitable products and experiences for clients with his creative agency Stranger Creative. Steven is brilliant, a dear friend, my gay Asian brother I didn’t realize I needed.
What he wants to uplift:
QTBIPOC Design which empowers LGBTQ+ designers of color with free and accessible digital education, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Check it out and support if you can.
And though he is taking a sabbatical from teaching and space holding at this time, I’d love to plug his podcast Yellow Glitter. (Here are two episodes of me and him here and here to get you started.) It’s insightful, irreverent and joyful — like Steven himself.