Social Justice Stance + Commitment

I stand, unequivocally, in Solidarity with the Black community, People of Color, and the LGBTQ+ community in fighting for equality, diversity, and full inclusion.

This is a running record of my process in learning how to stand up for issues I believe in, educating myself and those around me about these issues, supporting groups and organizations funding efforts around these issues, and constantly trying to make myself a better, more informed individual.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably have a pretty good idea about who I am, but maybe not as much about what I stand for. The intent of this page is to help clarify my stances on certain issues and give you a better understanding of what I care about and am fighting for.

LGBTQ+ Rights

• Stance: As a queer woman, I feel it’s important to be vocal about my sexuality and in my stance in fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, equality, inclusion, and acceptance, as it would be a disservice to all who have fought for the freedoms I enjoy to do otherwise. I also want to be visible for those searching for fellow queer individuals within the architecture and design industry. I fully recognize, appreciate, and welcome all sexual identities, gender identities, and gender expressions. 

• Actions: 

  • Support fellow LGBTQ+ owned businesses

  • Consume LGBTQ+ content with dynamic LGBTQ+ characters played by LGBTQ+ people, content that is directed/produced by LGBTQ+ people, and that includes LGBTQ+ people in the creation process (content examples: music, arts, tv, movies, social media, etc.)

  • Reject content that exploits the LGBTQ+ community

  • Live loud and proud

  • Support groups and organizations that provide guidance and assistance to the LGBTQ+ community

  • Prioritize working with LGBTQ+ identifying individuals

  • Support companies that prioritize inclusion and positive representation of LGBTQ+ people in all ways (examples: diversity in management, employees, advertising, partnerships, etc.)

• Monthly Donation: ACLU

Racial Justice

• Stance: I stand for equality, diversity, and full inclusion for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). 

I’m writing this at a time where COVID-19 is ravaging the globe and disproportionately targeting our BIPOC communities. This is also a time of ongoing protests following the many wrongful deaths of Black people including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, and countless others, many at the hands of police. The Black Lives Matter Movement and COVID-19 have helped to expose the deep-seated systemic racism in our country and the seemingly endless stack of cards against BIPOC people. As a white person, I know that I have participated in and benefitted from a system built on racism. I have been born into a system that offers me an understood privilege that I have not earned and is not extended to my non-white counterparts. I am devoted to educating myself and those close to me on being a better ally and standing up for racial and social justice.

• Actions:

  • Support BIPOC owned businesses

  • Consume BIPOC content with dynamic BIPOC characters, content that is directed/produced by BIPOC people, and that include BIPOC people in the creation process (content examples: music, arts, tv, movies, social media, etc.)

  • Reject content that exploits BIPOC people

  • Continually acknowledging and checking my privilege

  • Continue learning to be antiracist

  • Learn when just to listen and quietly offer support

  • Stand up against racism by speaking out and protesting

  • Support groups and organizations that provide guidance and assistance to BIPOC people and communities

  • Prioritize working with BIPOC

  • Support companies that prioritize inclusion and positive representation of BIPOC people in all ways (examples: diversity in management, employees, advertising, partnerships, etc.)

• Recurring Donations: NAACP, No Kid Hungry

Women’s Rights

• Stance: Any Being should have the right to bodily integrity and autonomy. The freedoms enjoyed by any cisgender straight white man should be able to be enjoyed by any other Being on this earth. Women, especially BIPOC women, have been suppressed, ignored, invalidated, abused, victimized, undervalued, sexualized, erased, and disrespected for centuries. I am committed to challenging the notion that women are “less than” and will continue to demand the respect and decency that we deserve.

• Actions: 

  • Examine the world through an intersectional lens

  • Support fellow women-owned businesses

  • Consume content with strong female leads, content that is directed/produced by women, and that includes women in the creation process (content examples: music, arts, tv, movies, social media, etc.)

  • Reject over-sexualization and exploitation of women

  • Advocate for myself and other women

  • Stand up against gender inequality by speaking out and attending protests

  • Support groups and organizations that provide guidance and assistance to women

  • Prioritize working with women

  • Support companies that prioritize inclusion and positive representation of women in all ways (examples: diversity in management, employees, advertising, partnerships, etc.)

• Monthly Donation: Planned Parenthood

Nonhuman/Animal Rights

• Stance: Animal and nonhuman rights are extremely important to me. All over the world, animals are bred, held hostage, and killed for the purpose of human consumption, entertainment, material goods, and scientific experimentation. Beings that do not have the option or opportunity to speak out and advocate for themselves are helpless without important organizations and activists’ work and I am committed to using my own voice to advance in the fight for nonhuman rights.

• Actions: 

  • Advocate for nonhumans and for the establishment and enforcement of nonhuman rights

  • Opt for vegan material goods whenever possible

  • Eat a vegan diet as often as possible

  • Reject entertainment that exploits animals

  • Reject products that use animal testing

• Monthly Donation: Nonhuman Rights Project

Climate/Environmental Justice

• Stance: At the moment, toward the end of the summer in 2020, California is experiencing its 1st, 2nd, and 3rd worst wildfires in the State’s history, all at the same time. 2020 has also brought on one of the most active hurricane seasons on record, widespread heatwaves, and drastic temperature fluctuations, as well as many other extreme weather events. With compounding plastic and electronic waste, rising tides, natural disasters obliterating communities, and impending scarcity of natural resources, we’re running out of time to reverse the effects of climate change and save our planet. The most significant change happens from the top down, when large corporations and governments vow to make significant changes but small actions by many individuals can have a noticeable impact as well. I’m devoted to electing officials that will prioritize the environment, supporting corporations that use sustainable practices, and taking smaller scale action on an individual or community level to help create the change I want to see.

• Actions: 

  • Prioritize sustainable design projects and sustainable building methods and materials

  • Pick up trash in my community at least once a week

  • Refuse unnecessary plastics and other unnecessary waste

  • Use reusable items whenever possible

  • Use more sustainable products

  • Dispose of items properly

  • Remember the order: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot

  • Compost as much as possible to reduce landfill waste

  • Grow as much of my own food as possible

  • Maintain a vegetarian/vegan diet

  • Buy local foods and goods as often as possible

  • Limit plane travel

  • Support companies that prioritize sustainability in all aspects (i.e., sourcing and type of materials, labor, packaging, etc.)

  • Advocate for the Earth and communities most affected by climate change

• Monthly Donation: Amazon Watch