Hello! My birth name is Shengxiao and my nickname is Sole and I am a speaker, social justice educator, storyteller, writer, facilitator, and creator of Nectar.
I do both public speaking in front of large audiences and facilitate trainings, workshops, and retreats for smaller groups. I have worked with school districts, companies, community organizers, and nonprofit organizations.
I specialize in diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) trainings, professional development workshops, and social change conversations. I also specialize in facilitating spaces for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Through history, data, and storytelling, I equip your organization with a systems-level understanding of social justice and leave people feeling empowered and inspired to take meaningful and sustained action.ned action.
Trainings and Workshops
My trainings and workshops are designed to equip the audience with a strong framework of understanding that can impact how you show up in your workplaces and communities. The trainings and workshops typically combine speaking portions and interactive portions and can be delivered in-person or virtually. They are typically 60-90 minutes in length. In alignment with regenerative principles, the cost of these trainings and workshops are on a sliding scale based on your organizational resources. Complete this form or schedule a call to learn more.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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Understanding Structural Racism
We often talk about racism as individual moments when something racist is said or done. This workshop provides an introductory training into structural racism to help participants gain a deeper understanding of history and make connections to the present.
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How Racism Impacts Organizational Culture
This workshop gives participants an overview of various ways systemic racism and interpersonal harm impact organizational culture. When this is not examined, organizations have high employee dissatisfaction and turn-over, leading to high costs and poor outcomes.
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Introduction to Transformative Justice
Transformative justice is a set of guiding principles that directs us to pay attention to underlying conditions that lead to injustices. In order to prevent future harm, transformative justice aims to change these underlying conditions so that we have safety and belonging for all.
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Leading Equitable and Inclusive Conversations
Description goes hereFrom 1:1 check-ins to organizational wide staff retreats, the way we show up to have conversations is a concrete place to incorporate equitable and inclusive practices. Using transformative justice frameworks and emergent strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown, this workshop trains participants equitable and inclusive conversation principles.
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Asian American Racialization
This workshop introduces the model minority myth and Asian American racial triangulation to give participants an understanding of the construction of the Asian American identity. This understanding helps to create a more inclusive space for AAPI folks in an organization.
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Contextualizing Anti-Asian Violence
During the pandemic, we witnessed a sharp rise in anti-Asian violence that still continues to impact AAPI communities and beyond. This workshop provides historical and political context to help participants understand the broader forces that contribute to anti-Asian violence.
Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Special Topics: for AAPI ERGs and communities
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Asian American Fragmentation and Wholeness
There are many factors that cause the fragmentation of the self for people living in the diaspora. In the Asian American community, oppressive historical and present experiences have especially contributed to the fragmentation of the self. This workshop aims to equip us with a deeper understanding of the experience of fragmentation in order to reclaim wholeness.
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How systemic oppression show up in AAPI communities
This workshop explores the connection between the personal and the structural. Many challenges faced by AAPI communities are not only based on personal history, but also connected to systemic oppression that we have experienced throughout history. We will contextualize AAPI stories in a broader narrative that links us more deeply to our ancestors and communities.
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AAPI Healing Justice Circles
AAPI folks have experienced a sharp rise in violence and trauma throughout the pandemic and beyond. Healing justice is imperative for AAPI folks to collectively grieve and mourn because our ability to grieve is directly connected to our ability to love and show up for each other with care.
Other Services and Offerings
Staff Meeting and Retreat Facilitation
Whether you are a nonprofit rewriting your mission statement or a company creating your next strategic plan, I offer facilitation services for your staff meetings and retreats. My facilitation goal is to create an open and inclusive space in order to align goals and visions. I facilitate organizations through generative conflicts to arrive on the other side with more clarity and stronger relationships.
Keynote Speeches
I deliver keynote speeches at conferences, fundraising events, retreats, and more. My keynote addresses are typically between 20-60 minutes, and the length can be customized based on your needs.
Managing Change Course
Our organizations are living, breathing organisms that are constantly undergoing change. I have developed a training course on Managing Change that can be delivered as a self-paced online course, a facilitated live course, or a hybrid experience.
“Not only have I learned a lot from Sole about the content of the class, but also a lot about how to be an educator. She pushed us to work and think hard to understand concepts that deserve to be thought hard about. I will forever be changed by the knowledge and experiences gained from this class.”
— Bobbie, Mount Vernon School District
“Sole has a wealth of invaluable knowledge for social justice that is digestible and thought-provoking, while promoting inspired action in the community. [This experience] was the catalyst to igniting my courage so that I can use my voice and challenge my personal biases in a compassionate way. Sole, thank you so much for your dedication to leading a movement to justice and liberation!”
— Alyssa Saquilayan, Nurse + Coach
Past Clients Include
Past Speaking Engagements
Dec 2022 Muffling the Voices of Asian American Pacific Islander Language Learners, Illinois Resource Center: Multilingual Illinois
Nov 2022 Language, Power, and Linguistic Colonization, Dual Language Education of New Mexico: La Cosecha Conference
Nov 2022 The Cognitive and Social Power of Standard Language, Dual Language Education of New Mexico: La Cosecha Conference
Sep 2022 Centering Educational Equity for Asian American Students, WIDA and Wisconsin Center for Education Research
May 2022 They Divide We Conquer: forces that have sought to create divisions in Asian America, Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab
May 2022 What if this is the not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb (Valarie Kuar), AAPI Stories of Love, Resilience, and Overcoming Hate, The Chicago Women's Association and The University of Chicago Alumni Club of Los Angeles
May 2022 Navigating Personal Connection to Systemic Oppression, Asian Mental Health Project
Mar 2022 Simplifying Industrial Complexes, Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab
Oct 2021 Understanding Fragmentation and Reclaiming Wholeness, Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab
Sep 2021 5-week professional development series on oppression, intersectionality, somatic experiences, and relational healing for educators, ACERO Schools
May 2021 Asian Americans and Social Justice Movements, Love as a Kind of Cure
May 2021 AAPIs in the Workplace: Identity and Belonging, Kapor Capital
May 2021 Language, Power, and Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy, ACERO Schools
May 2021 Asian American Racialization, National Louis University
May 2021 Authenticity in the Workplace: Asian American Experiences, Financial Force
May 2021 Unpacking Microaggressions, PIC Immigration Law
Mar 2021 Community Care, Healing, and Allyship, Brex
Mar 2021 Racialization: The Making of Whiteness and Blackness, Thrive Hive, Nicole Cruz Coaching
Feb 2021 How Capitalism is Failing Our Humanity, Women of Color Summit
Jan 2021 Revolutionary Healing: Investing in Wellness while Divesting from the Wellness Industrial Complex, Roots of South Los Angeles Wellness Center
Oct 2020 HOMAGE: Honoring Our Movement Ancestors through Gratitude and Empowerment, The Cosmos
Jul 2020 How to Build and Inclusive and Accessible Practice, Give Good Care
Jun 2020 This is Water: Introduction to Systems of Oppression, Paridad Educational Consulting
Jun 2020 Mindful Activism: Black and Asian Solidarity, The Cosmos
May 2020 Anti-Asian Violence in the Age of COVID-19, Downers Grove South High School
Aug 2019 Systemic Oppression and Individual Experiences: Indigeneity and Immigration, Paridad Educational Consulting Professional Development in Oaxaca, Mexico
Aug 2019 The Complexity of Identity, Associated Colleges of the Midwest
Apr 2019 Guest lecturer on the history of Japanese internment, guest lecturer on immigration policy, Summit Schools Illinois District 104
Aug 2018 Usos y Costumbres: Indigeneity, Immigration, and Social Justice in Oaxaca, Mexico, Paridad Educational Consulting Professional Development in Oaxaca, Mexico
Feb 2018 How Did We Get Here: History of Global Health Disparities, GlobeMed
Aug 2017 How Did We Get Here: History of Global Health Disparities, GlobeMed
Aug 2017 Harnessing the Power of Grassroots Partnerships, GlobeMed
Jun 2017 3-day retreat for grassroots community leaders on “Changing the Way Change Happens,” GlobeMed Conference in Thailand
Feb 2017 Voices of Grassroots Partnerships, GlobeMed
Feb 2017 Amplifying Voices: Capturing Stories, GlobeMed
Feb 2017 Monitoring and Evaluation: Measuring and Sustaining Social Impact, GlobeMed
Oct 2016 Reciprocal Community Engagement and Community Partnerships, International Service Learning Summit
Aug 2016 How Did We Get Here: History of Global Health Disparities, GlobeMed
Aug 2016 Harnessing the Power of Grassroots Partnerships, GlobeMed
Jun 2016 3-day retreat in Spanish for grassroots community leaders on “Changing the Way Change Happens: Alianzas para el Cambio Radical,” GlobeMed Conference in Guatemala
Feb 2016 Languages as Barriers and Bridges, GlobeMed
Feb 2016 Evaluation of Social Impact, GlobeMed