Minjung Pai has 16 years of experience as an elementary teacher in public and independent schools. She graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in English Literature and received her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from California State University, Northridge. Ms. Pai served on the Board of Trustees and as a co-chair of the Committee on Institutional Equity at Westland School where she was intimately involved in supporting the school in its DEI initiatives. Minjung helped launch and facilitate affinity groups for parents, staff, and students and served on the Anti-bias Social Justice Curriculum Task Force. She was also a Heinemann Fellow where she researched identity work for teachers. She is a member of the UCLA Writing Project Leadership Team where she helps serve writing teachers in the greater Los Angeles area. She presented multiple workshops at the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference and served on the local planning committee in 2017. Minjung also served first as a board member than as an Advisor to the Southern California People of Color at Independent Schools (SoCal POCIS) Board of Directors. Ms. Pai’s passion for culturally responsive education is matched only by her commitment to developing edifying spaces for faculty and staff from historically marginalized groups, especially women of color.

Sarah Furnari (they/them) completed their Masters in Social Work at the University of Southern California in 2020. After spending extracurricular time during their undergraduate studies at the Berklee College of Music as a sexual assault advocate, queer helpline volunteer, and doubling as a gender studies major, Sarah found a love for social justice and focused their MSW on macro-level issues such as gender-based violence and juvenile justice. In their career as a social worker, they have worked as a case manager, program manager, educator, and administrator in non-profit spaces with multiple marginalized populations. As a consultant, Sarah’s goal is bringing the ethics of social work into jobs that don’t necessarily require them. The core belief of social work is that everyone has inherent dignity and worth and Sarah believes that operating from that foundation is what allows every kind of work to be more inclusive, collaborative, and innovative. They enjoy bringing that perspective into new spaces and seeing what exciting challenges and opportunities it can bring about.

Melissa Martin is native to the mountainous San Gabriel Valley. She has a deep passion for all art and animals but especially theatre, ceramics, and cats. She coordinates complex projects, is personable in relationship building, and keeps highly detailed records. Melissa’s love of the arts intertwines with her social justice passions, driving her to use her hands to build a better world, mind to create change, and voice to speak for those who cannot.