A panel discussion celebrating the rich AAPI communities of Sonoma County.

Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
Sunday, April 27 · 3 – 4:15 pm
20 4th Street, Corner of 4th & B St. Petaluma
This event is free, please make reservations here

Join us at the Museum for an engaging panel discussion celebrating the rich AAPI communities of Sonoma County! Hear from our guest speakers: Cheryl Boden, of Filipino and Pomo descent; Bruce Shimizu, representing a third-generation Japanese American family; and Lance Lew, from a third-generation Chinese family in Petaluma. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and connect! This free event is presented in partnership with the Petaluma Old Chinatown Memorial Park Ad Hoc Committee.

Cheryl Boden has lived her whole life in Sonoma County, the land of her indigenous maternal ancestors. And for the past 45 years she has been a resident of Windsor, CA, where she lives with her husband, David, who built their comfortable home, and their son, Matthew. She is a proud product of Santa Rosa public schools; a graduate of Santa Rosa Junior College; Sonoma State University; and Dominican University of California, San Raphael, CA, where she attained a multiple subject teaching credential. Her earliest teaching experience was as a tutor/aide under Title IV Indian Education program in Santa Rosa City Schools. She is retired from public education as an elementary school teacher after many years of service. Cheryl is the daughter of a Southern Pomo mother and Filipino father who emigrated from the Philippines in 1929 to San Francisco, who then settled in Santa Rosa. She is a member of the Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians and Filipino American National Historical Society, Sonoma. Her rooted alliance with these organizations reflect her identity and life experiences.

Bruce Shimizu  is a fourth-generation Sonoma County native, having grown up on a chicken ranch in Cotati. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, is a member of the Chapter’s Speakers Bureau and is leading the Japanese Garden Project at Paradise Ridge Winery. Bruce is also one of the founders of Sonoma County Taiko, a local community based Japanese drumming group. Bruce’s life has been dedicated to serving the community and he believes in finding sustainable solutions to problems that balance the needs of the planet, its people, and creates prosperity for all.

Lance Lew is a Petaluma native who graduated from Petaluma High School in 1974 and whose family had settled in Petaluma when Lew’s grandfather, Raymond Chin Hing, got a job in the Petaluma Grocery–the second Chinese-owned business to operate since the Chinese Exclusion Act. Lew pursued a career in the television industry, serving as the community and public relations director at KPIX in San Francisco and as the community marketing director for KNTV in San Jose. At KPIX, he served as the project manager for “Separate Lives, Broken Dreams,” a documentary co-sponsored by the Chinese Americans Citizens Alliance that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act.