Food and Flow III with the ASPIRE Program: Guest Speaker, Terisa Siagatonu

Terisa Siagatonu is an award-winning poet, arts educator, community organizer, and mental health advocate born and rooted in the Bay Area. Her presence in the poetry world as a queer Samoan woman and arts activist has granted her opportunities to perform in places ranging from the UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris to The White House (during the Obama Administration). Terisa is a recipient of President Obama's Champions of Change Award for her activism as a poet/organizer in her Pacific Islander community. Terisa is one of the co-founders and organizers of The Root Slam, a free bi-weekly poetry venue based in Oakland, CA, voted the 2017 and 2018's Best Open Mic venue in the Bay Area. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Community Studies and minor in Education from the University of California- Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in Marriage/Family Therapy from the University of Southern California (USC), aiming to use her background as a mental health clinician and poet to bridge the gaps between our collective healing and liberation.