KEYNOTE SPEAKER WARJAY NAIGAN

Warjay Naigan (they/them) is a queer Autistic disabled FilAm. They grew up in southern Orange County to two Filipino immigrants. They have a younger sister and brother.

They went to Cal Poly Pomona from 2013 to 2018, graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Asian American Studies. Warjay was in Barkada & was in various leadership roles including historian, president, and Barkada Entertainment Company Coordinator (BECC). They were also involved in PASK (Pilipino American Studies Kollective), ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), and CalGeo.

Since graduating in 2018, they began working as an engineer for a local water company and is currently in the process to obtain their Professional Engineer (PE) License. Beyond their day job they have been involved with Lakas Mentorship Program (2018-2020) & Filipino American National Historical SocietyOrange County/Inland Empire (FANHS – OC/IE) Chapter (2020-2021). In 2021 they received a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University.

Currently Warjay is a community organizer with Kabataang makaBayan (KmB), Pro-People Youth, a grassroots organization they have worked with as a student since 2016 and officially joined in 2018. They participate in various activities including Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV), Revolutionary Reads, and Historic Filipinotown tours.

Warjay is driven by values of disability justice, autonomy, and radical liberation. These values have been built and strengthened through their life experiences, and currently inform their actions in walking through life and in building community.

In their free time Warjay likes to play video games, watch anime, cook, and watch YouTube video essays. Warjay is a happy cat parent to three cats: Brownie, Vivi, and Kiki. They cherish them greatly.