Shree Lakshmi (SL) Rao & Kahran LaTourette
Can we really dismantle systems of oppression? Who needs to be in the room and what tools do we need? This talk will dive into the realities of dismantling systems of power and oppression through a case study of the same in Washington state impacting more than 40,000 youth and young adults experiencing housing instability.
Credits
Music: Soundstripe Inc.
Track: Stardust
Artist: Cody Martin
Writer: Cody Kurtz Martin
Publisher: BOSS SOUNDSTRIPE PRODUCTIONS
Video production: EVERYWOW
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Shree Lakshmi (SL) Rao
I am an equity-centered system change Principal Service Designer with experience across sectors (tech, philanthropy, global health, and government) and a background in Interaction Design. I have been (re)designing systems with a strong racial equity, inclusion, and social justice mindset. My past experience includes end-to-end user experience expertise; including design strategy and research. I was previously co-designing policy, technology, and services with lived experts, community-based organizations, and government stakeholders in foster care, homelessness, disability, and juvenile legal system. I’m currently leading equity-centered design work in the post-secondary space. My practice is grounded in trauma-informed design research, targeted universalism, co-design, and complex systems theory. I am a strong proponent of evolving the design practice to be anti-racist, decolonized and systems thinking oriented.
Kahran LaTourette
Kahran LaTourette (He/They) is an Indigenous-Japanese mixed-race youth peer advocate and student at Evergreen State College. Kahran has lived experience with housing instability and transitional housing that brought him to his work focus on protecting youth’s autonomy in support programs and other resources. Kahran was a Library Assistant at the Downtown Library that serves mostly the vulnerable population in the area. Through his work at the library, he got in contact with the Office of Homeless Youth (OHY) and became a part of the Youth Homelessness Prevention Steering committee made up of lived experts and Caregivers. After 6 months of working with OHY, Kahran left his position at the library and continues to work with other organizations on youth homelessnesses prevention and support.
