Lia Shigemura

Fearing I’d never secure a job with a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in cross-cultural counseling, I completed coursework in mixology and on rare occasions continue to hone these skills.

I met my partner of over 30 years when we were both working on an anti-Asian hate crime / murder of a Chinese American man. That something so wonderful could emerge from something so hateful fuels my eyes-wide-open faith in humanity and love.

Senior Consultant

Over three decades ago, moved by a pursuit of social justice,I started my career working as program director for a national civil rights organization. Since that time my professional path within the public, non-profit and private sectors has focused on issues of race, disability, labor and employment. My passion to contribute to the creation of communities and a world in which all people can live with respect and dignity continues to shape my life.

In my professional career,I’ve held a variety of leadership positions within the DEI and HR functions at medium & large national and multi-national corporations including vice president of diversity & inclusion for a global enterprise with over 120,000 employees. As an activist and community volunteer, I’ve served on numerous non-profit boards of organizations with focus areas about which I care deeply including AIDS/HIV treatment and prevention; LGBTQ community health and sustainability; employment opportunities for people with disabilities; and domestic violence prevention. I’m proud to be a founder of a leading-edge and innovative domestic violence shelter for abused monolingual /limited-English speaking Asian women and their children (https://www.sfaws.org/).