Tell us about yourself and what brought you to GGJ?
Lee: We exist in a moment of grave threats and incredible opportunity, where the old world is dying and the new world requires doulas who are really committed to the gift of bringing new life into the world. GGJ is one of the best places that I could position myself to help doula that new world into existence, not as a singular responsibility, but through our collective wisdom and determination.
Patty: I am forever grateful for Asian American and Ethnic Studies organizing as the start of my politicization and for being my forever political homes. And I had a very formative political experience organizing in the Philippines that pushed me to seek a more internationalist politic. GGJ offers this really beautiful opportunity that connects the American multiracial and class-based grassroots organizing I was familiar with to this larger global movement looking to weave their local contexts toward a shared struggle.
Lee: Yes! I love that GGJ is at the intersection of building a politic and movement in the U.S. while being in relationship and accountable to the larger anti-fascist struggle abroad. I also came to be as much of a student of movement as a teacher within it. I love training and I look at training through the lens of popular education. I believe that the people are the greatest teachers, the greatest leaders, and the greatest revolutionaries.
What is your role and what are you excited to do here?
Lee: I'm the Political Education Director. I've organized in climate, labor, electoral, and Black liberation spaces, and one of the most important facets of organizing that oftentimes get undersupported is people's development. As a political education director, I see my role as a companion and coach in people's development processes, and being a conduit to develop as many people as possible through our base-building member organizations.
I'm excited for our International Feminist Organizing School (IFOS) Kenya, both in terms of continuing the legacy of what's been built through the previous IFOSs, and also bringing GGJ into a clear pan-African feminist practice. And I'm excited to grow the work and ethos of the Transformative Organizing School, while also working with partners to develop mass trainings that help popularize and expand the masses’ imagination of what's possible. There is a lot of well-earned cynicism and hopelessness, but there is also a lot of possibility in this moment.
Patty: I am the Executive Assistant to Cindy Wiesner, our fearless Executive Director. Day to day, I support in capacitating Cindy to hold GGJ as that connector both between our different sectors here in the U.S. and between the U.S. and movements abroad. Some days I'm moving work on grassroots feminism internationally, then the next I’m working on anti-militarism here at home. The national and global scope of this work particularly excites me. I'm often thinking about how we can share lessons across communities and countries.
How are you thinking about this moment we’re in?
Lee: We are witnessing the collapse of the neoliberal world order, and we are not responsible for saving or salvaging it. We are responsible for making sure that fascists, authoritarians, misogynists, technocrats, and racist folks who are looking to make life miserable for us don't actually get to win the new world. It's our responsibility to continue to build an alternative world, an alternative vision.
At the same time, we are responsible for working in a united front in order to undermine fascism and push us towards a future in which everyone's material needs are met, a future in which people are able to live lives of dignity and self-determination.
Patty: I've always been a futurist — I believe strongly in the notion that present conditions will change and we have a key role in shaping it — so my eye is always on what's next. The global descent into fascism is scary, but I am confident it will not last. Much of the Right's consolidation of power is actually evidence of desperation knowing that their brand of politics will fracture. The Left definitely has some work to do, but given how people are more willing for experimentation and familiar with our political program, I'm excited for the possibility of governance — once we get over the fascist hump of course!
Lee: We should assert our view of the world and work to win it, work to win the people. There is a lot of possibility in the fight against fascism to get closer to that and to build the power necessary for people to be willing to give a chance on a different world.
What drives your work or brings you inspiration?
Patty: I'm a big believer in life. People, communities, environments — all that make up and sustain life. There's so much horror in this world that can make you numb, yet despite immense tragedy and grief, the resilience and inevitability of life is what reawakens me to the world.
Lee: Moments that are this hard, with great difficulty and great loss, create a lot of creativity and capacity within people young and old to try new things and find a way out, which is really inspiring.
Patty: It's also the life outside of this work that makes it all worth it and brings me closer to what it's really for — the meals shared, the laughs between friends, or even the political heartbreaks. Our formations may change, but for me those relationships and communities are what make up the horizon for this work.
Lee: People can be connected to one another in a way that was previously not possible in human history. Our movements can learn from each other, we're capable of having a truly global and international perspective. That is also incredibly inspiring and hopeful. I can follow what's happening in Indonesia and I can learn and cultivate lessons and be in an actual conversation with folks anywhere about what's going on.
Is there something you’re looking forward to this fall?
Lee: I am a recovering Floridian. I'm no longer living in Florida, I'm recovering from living in Florida. It's so exciting to actually see the leaves change again. I love the changing of the leaves, I love the changing of the weather after living half my life in perpetual summer. I love sweaters, I love cocoa and cider, and I love being bundled up at night.
Patty: Pie! In college, I had a pie guy who I'd always hit up at our Sunday farmer's markets. That was years ago, but he definitely showed me how pie — doesn't matter what kind — during a crisp fall day can really turn a day around. I'm still hunting for a pecan pie that would beat his. Also I'm a baker, so it's the perfect season for it. Definitely hit me up if you want my recipes for a flaky Hojicha Caramel Apple Pie or a rich Miso Pumpkin Pie! | 
