Queer and Asian Identities - Learning Together

Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi He / Him / His

Takeru Nagayoshi is the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. A sixth-year educator, he teaches AP English in New Bedford, MA. After piloting the research-based AP Capstone program, Takeru helped his district lead the state in the number of AP Certificates awarded with over 92 percent of his students passing their exams. As a son of Japanese immigrants and a gay person of color, Takeru leverages his identities to fight for education equity. Outside the classroom, he has written op-eds on education issues, coaches developing teachers, and lends his voice to multiple panels, committees, and an educator diversity task force. He has also participated in several fellowships, including those offered by Teach Plus, Harvard, and the MA Department of Education. An advocate for community-based solutions, he launched his own educator leadership program, SNEALI, which develops local capacity for New England teachers. Takeru has received recognitions such as the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teacher Leadership Award (2019), Boston University Young Alumni Award (2019), and Sontag Prize in Urban Education (2018). He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with an honors B.A. in international relations and from Boston University, an M.Ed in Curriculum and Teaching.
Twitter: @tk_nagayoshi

Soukprida Phetmisy She / They

Soukprida Phetmisy (she/they) is a queer Lao American activist, DEI capacity builder, teaching artist, and anti-racist/anti-bias educator and facilitator. She is the sister/daughter/granddaughter of Lao-Viet refugees, and grew up in Houston, TX, where she was partially raised by her maternal grandparents. Her passion for community, storytelling, and disrupting the status quo was catalyzed by a decade of organizing and advocacy-centered work within the arts and education sectors. In her role leading Teach For America’s (TFA) national Asian American and Pacific Islander Alliances, she is responsible for cultivating and building relationships with grassroots and grasstops organizations, influencers, and media committed to strengthening Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander educators, students, and their communities. Alongside her work at TFA, Soukprida serves as a lead organizer and trainer with Chicago Regional Organizing for Antiracism, specializing in cultural competence, anti-racist/anti-bias education, and caucus. She holds a B.F.A. in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design and was a 2008 NPR Next Generation Radio fellow, publishing Accents & Identities. Her voice has been featured on NPR, Reset, Artemis, and more.
Instagram: @soukprida • Twitter: @soukprida