Greetings APAP readers! Hopefully by now most of you are familiar with our newest feature, Pol-Files. For those of you who are new to our site, they are quick questionnaires from some of our favorite AAPIs making a difference through their progressive endeavors. We hope to not only inspire our readers by showing them different paths towards political involvement, but also to give thanks to these amazing individuals initiating change within their communities. Our past Pol-Files have been on Jennifer Javier , Laura Shin and Vin Gopal. Any questions can be directed to apapeditor@apaforprogress.com. What is your name? Kristina Logsdon What is your current position? As WA State Racial Justice Campaign and Training Coordinator with Progressive Majority, I recruit and train progressive candidates of color for local and state office. What are some interesting jobs you have had in the past? I’ve held some random jobs, many of which contribute to my work today. Selling books door to door seventy hours a week for Southwestern one summer definitely prepared me for doorbelling and long hours on the campaign trail. A summer internship at the Library of Congress cataloguing the LOOK magazine collection gave me a taste of Washington DC. Screenprinting greeting cards by hand – well that made me realize I needed to find fulfilling work. What is your educational background? I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and a certification to teach art to K-12 students. What skills do you think are necessary for your job? Understanding how to build trust and reach out to communities of color is a must. As far as I know, I’m the only person who specifically recruits and trains progressive people of color to run for office so being independent and a self starter is necessary. Perseverance, a passion for social justice, and authenticity all certainly come in handy as well. How did you get your start? Mennonite Voluntary Service brought me out to Seattle where I worked for an environmental non-profit as a volunteer for a year. The organization hired me as their outreach coordinator after my term was complete. While working to pass state legislation, I became acutely aware of the inequities between communities and the officials elected to represent them. When Progressive Majority announced an opening, I saw it as an opportunity to move society closer to fairness and equality by bringing more voices to the table. Do you have any role models? My mom is a 1st generation Japanese American. She raised 2 children in rural West Virginia by herself. To get by she learned to make do with what we had. This meant clearing land next to our house to plant a large garden, picking watercress in the spring for food, and hunting, skinning, and cleaning deer. She is a tough cookie that taught me the importance of community, respect for the land, and living simply so that others can simply live. Describe your typical day. There is no typical day which is why I enjoy my job. A day can include: meeting with a community member to discuss people who should be recruited to run for a local office, advising candidates on next steps for their campaign, working out logistics for a campaign training, connecting a farm team member (candidate not quite ready to run) with a community member, researching numbers to help candidates decide which areas to target for voter contact, etc. Who is your favorite politician? My favorite politicians are the candidates I work with on a daily basis. Some are not political junkies and running for office is a step outside their comfort zones. Some live in areas where people of color are not in elected office and running for office can challenge stereotypes. They sacrifice so that they can fix a problem or address a need in their community and make life better for future generations. Their courage inspires me. What do you do with your free time? Free time? I serve on 3 boards – Washington Bus, Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network, and Suriname Indigenous Health Fund. When I’m not contributing to these boards, I play rock band and visit the gym to relieve some stress. I am also an amateur quilter, knitter and sudoku player.

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