Celebrating APIDA Heritage Month

Lydia X.Z. Brown is an advocate, organizer, educator, attorney, strategist, and writer laboring for disability justice and liberation. They are a Policy Counsel for Disability Rights and Algorithmic Fairness at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and also serve as a member of the American Bar Associate's Commission on Disability Rights. With an intersectional approach, Lydia's work focuses on addressing state and interpersonal violence targeting disabled people, and they are a key leader and changemaker in the global autistic rights movement.

Schuyler Bailar is an internationally-celebrated inspirational speaker, author, and advocate for trans rights and mental health awareness. A former swimmer on Harvard University's men's team, Schuyler was the first transgender athlete to compete on an NCAA Division 1 men's team. Schuyler has shared his story with audiences far and wide—from elementary schools to college auditoriums to corporate and nonprofit organizations. By speaking boldly about his own life experiences as a Korean-American trans man, Schuyler is a powerful advocate for his communities.

Jia Tolentino is an award-winning writer and editor, currently working as a staff writer for The New Yorker. In 2019, Jia published a collection of essays entitled Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion that investigated cultural phenomena from the myths of reality television to feminism in classic literature. Roxane Gay called the book, "a masterclass in how to write cultural criticism," and it made numerous "Best Of" lists in 2019.