AJ Rafael: singer/songwriter and content creator from Moreno Valley, CA. With over 1 Million subscribers on YouTube, and 900,000 listeners on Spotify... AJ was recognized as a Fil-Am Game Changer by the City of Los Angeles in 2017. His debut album, Red Roses, charted on Billboard and at #4 on the Pop iTunes Charts. AJ continues to make music and upload videos as he did when he first started back in 2006. He is also active in the theatre world, performing and music directing in theaters around the United States such as East West Players, Performance Riverside, & American Repertory Theatre.
Gayle Romasanta is a writer/artist. Her work has appeared on television, radio, online and in journals and books, such as the New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Harvard University’s Education Next Journal, KQED’s The Forum, ABS-CBN, and more. She co-authored the first book about labor leader Larry Itliong, Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong with the late and great historian Dr. Dawn Mabalon. Formerly, she was the artistic director for Bindlestiff Studio, the only Filipino American theater space in the US. Currently, she is an artist-in-residence at Brava! For Women in the Arts located at Brava Theater in San Francisco, writing and co-composing a new musical about Larry Itliong. She is also the dramaturg for several upcoming theater productions, including, “Prieto,” by Yosimar Reyes, directed by Kat Evasco, produced by Joan Osato and Jose Antonio Vargas. Gayle is also the founder of Bridge and Delta Publishing, a publishing house committed to telling immigrant stories that are American at their core. For more information visit www.bridgedelta.com.
Aileen Pagtakhan was raised in Union City, California and this is her 8th year teaching at Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in her hometown. She was a community college transfer to San Francisco State University and earned their BA in Asian American Studies. Aileen's time with Pinay/Pinoy Educational Partnerships (or PEP) has been central in her curriculum building for students to be active and critical agents of change in and outside the community and for themselves.
Patty Serda is the daughter of Larry Itliong.
A Panel Discussion on Larry Itliong: Journey to Justice