I have been lucky enough to work with these wonderful organizations:
“Meena is a thoughtful, process-oriented curator and facilitator with an infectious commitment to her core values. She is practiced at elevating those around her, and brings a sense of joy to her work. Meena’s unwavering sense of justice is inspiring - a model for me and for all leaders in our arts and culture industry.”
“Having participated in multiple convenings facilitated by Meena, I can enthusiastically attest to her expertise in planning, facilitation, and creating space for revealing and challenging conversations. Meena is always thoroughly prepared with a plan to accomplish goals and works with the group to invite everyone into discussions. Her thoughtful approach was evident in the regional theater convening focused on Appalachia in December 2019. Meena created a daylong event with multiple artistic voices from various traditions and rich conversations that offered a sense of the region’s history, current challenges, and beautiful artistry. I greatly appreciate the attention paid to marginalized communities, the inclusion of regional Native artists, and the broad variety of perspectives represented. She created a compelling event with amazing opportunities for learning and exchange that grew out of her care and attention to detail. She is deeply committed to building community and working towards justice in the world.”
“In January 2021, a year after my organization began its DEAI work, we decided it was time to hire a consultant to help guide us through next steps on our DEAI journey. Meena’s name was recommended by many, due to her experiences and background in the arts, specifically cultural arts, and DEAI consulting work. After our first meeting with Meena, our organization knew she was the right fit. Meena’s calm and comforting aura helped put our organization’s leadership and volunteers at ease. She was genuinely open to hearing our organization’s successes and challenges, as well as each individuals’ personal experiences with DEAI and thoughts about the organization’s DEAI goals. Meena provided resources (an outline/roadmap tailored to our organization, templates and exercises) and helped us identify how each individual could bring their own strengths to our DEAI work.
Most importantly, Meena was flexible, empathetic, and understanding of our organization’s needs. Originally our engagement was for 6 months; however, due to a number of organization changes in the middle of our engagement, Meena graciously extended her contract by 4 months to help guide us through these organizational changes. Instead of pushing forward in our DEAI goals as originally proposed, Meena worked hand-in-hand with our organization’s leadership to recenter and recalibrate our DEAI work with steady grace. She helped us identify areas of improvement to find a better path forward.
Additionally, this work was often triggering, mentally exhausting, and complex for many of us. Meena understands this very well - while she was working with us, Meena was always receptive and responsive, making adjustments in her facilitation and recommendations to fit our needs. Everyone in our organization quickly trusted and respected Meena, which in turn allowed many to be more open and vulnerable with the organization ultimately helping to build teamwork overall. Our organization was left in a better place with a more solid path forward because of Meena. I would highly recommend Meena as a consultant!”
“I’ve had the privilege of working with Meena on several projects over the years, most recently as core team members on the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC). Meena co-led Unit 2, focused on equity and anti-racism within arts and culture organizations. Meena was an authentic co-creator at every step of the process, bringing her compassionate and skilled knowledge, pushing all of us to bring our whole selves to the work. The end result was a really impressive and extensive online learning unit, one created with integrity and deep knowledge. On a personal level, Meena pushes me to be the best version of myself, to continue learning and growing. I’m forever grateful to have a colleague, friend, and co-creator in Meena, and I respect and honor her brilliance as an artist, arts administrator, consultant, mother, friend, and human being. She is an asset to every team and every community she touches, without exception.”
“I have had the opportunity to work with Meena as an organizer, teacher, and administrator, and am struck by the way she brings compassion, creativity, thoughtfulness, and equity to all of her practices. As a teacher and leader for the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC), she led hard conversations about systemic racism in the arts, helping folks of all different backgrounds and knowledge levels to create new cultures of accountability. Throughout these challenging discussions, Meena centered art in all of her lessons and demonstrated the importance of joy and compassion. She is a leader in the field, using her nurturing, sensitive, and caring perspective to cultivate change and uplift the people around her.”
“Meena was a presenter for a series of workshops that Asian Musical Voices of America (AMVA) organized on activism in the arts. AMVA, an organization that fosters community among Asians creating and working in the classical music field in the U.S., wanted to explore how classical musicians can practice anti-racism, support and lift up other BIPOC artists, and educate ourselves on how to fight racism in the field. From discussing money and power in the arts to our conditioning to white supremacy culture, Meena was unafraid to speak and share the truth. I believe that Asians in classical music, because of their presence in numbers, have enormous opportunities to make lasting changes in the field. We need more people like Meena to speak out and lead us against inequity in the arts so that we can all thrive together.”
“Meena organized a workshop called “Our Values, Money, and Power,” hosted by Asian Musical Voices of America (AMVA). The workshop was part of a series called Conduct Change, which explored the topic of art for change, specifically for the Asian-American community. It brought together members of AMVA to learn, reflect, and discuss how to use their art for activism.
Meena has an extraordinary constellation of experiences as a funder, classical musician, and activist. She observes power dynamics as if with infrared goggles; this superpower enables her to navigate hierarchies with ease. She generously shared her hard-won wisdom with participants from across the country. She inspired the group with her personal journey, growing up as an outsider in Japan and the US. She led them in self-reflection exercises, highlighting the importance of telling one’s personal story. Finally, she helped participants begin to visualize the invisible structures of dominant cultures, access, political power, and decision-making.
The session was an important step in my own personal journey, and helped me identify hierarchies and power structures in my life. Thank you, Meena, for your energy, creativity, bravery, and willingness to share. You are helping to shape the landscape of activist artists, giving them the organizing tools and resiliency they need, in a time when this country needs it most.”