Ryka Aoki is a queer, transgender, Japanese-American writer and professor. She earned a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from Cornell University. Her writings, though about trans people, are written for general audiences in hopes introduce and normalize transgender people, lives, and stories. Ryka was honored by the California State Senate for her work with a Los Angeles performance series for trans and gender queer individuals called Trans/Giving. She teaches English at Santa Monica College and gender studies at Antioch University and holds a black belt in judo. #LGBTQHistory #QTPOCHistory