Nikki Toyama-Szeto

Do we live in a post-racial society?  For many, especially those involved in justice work and urban issues, the reality of living in a multi-ethnic world is unavoidable.   But living with racial differences, can be messy and complicated.  These differences can derail people on a diversity journey.  But these very differences might provide the opportunity for transformative relationships.  In this January Series presentation Nikki Toyama-Szeto, as an Asian American woman, will relate her journey through a racialized and genderized society to the discovery of her own unique contributions in a multi-racial world. 

Nikki A. Toyama-Szeto serves as the Program Director for Urbana09, a student missions conference that gathers 20,000 students from 120 different countries. Nikki oversees the development of the plenary sessions, which include worship, speakers, dancers, media, and theater teams. She consults and speaks for a variety of campuses, churches, and organizations and currently sits on the board of Mission Year. 

Prior to entering ministry, Nikki spent several years working as an engineer in Silicon Valley.  She developed medical devices for the treatment of heart disease and other coronary diseases.  Nikki shared her experiences with 20,000 delegates at the Urbana Mission Convention in 2003. She is also a co-editor of More than Serving Tea, a collection of essays, stories and poems looking at the intersection of race, gender, and faith for Asian American women.

Watch her interview on Calvin's Inner Compass program (Season 11, Episode #1116).

Read about the book Nikki co-edited, More Than Serving Tea: Asian American Women on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership and Faith.

Presentations at Calvin University

Beyond Multi-Culturalism to True Community
Part of the: January Series
Monday, January 17, 2011 12:30:00 PM
Covenant Fine Arts Center