March is Women’s History Month, and the theme this year is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”
To celebrate the stories of women in the learning and development field and multiple education spaces, we reached out to internal and external partners and thought leaders to talk to them about their professional lives and the stories that have inspired them.
At ansrsource, we believe in the power of storytelling to educate, connect, and enrich people’s lives. We are grateful to the women who chose to share their stories with us. We hope you enjoy learning about the women we spoke with as much as we loved speaking with them.
Happy Women’s History Month!
Linda Hasunuma, Assistant Director at Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Temple University
What is your favorite part of working in L&D in the higher education space?
My favorite part is working with educators to problem-solve and address their specific teaching concerns and needs so that they can do their jobs more effectively. I know that through this work, it is our students who benefit, and that this kind of work can even affect their sense of belonging and their outcomes in higher ed. It’s very gratifying to see how centering our students and our care for them can help faculty across so many different disciplines, professional schools, and teaching contexts. I love when faculty, especially new faculty, realize they are not alone in the challenges they face and have a community of support for teaching and resources.
Who is a woman you looked up to?
I have always looked up to my mom because she models perseverance, courage, and service to others, and has the best work ethic of anyone I have ever known. Without the language skills, education, and privileges that I have had, she worked very long hours to provide for our family. I want people to respect and honor all the different kinds of moms out there who are doing their best. Professionally, I respect bell hooks because her work affected me deeply and transformed how I think about what we do as teachers and the nature of our education system in the US. She really opened my eyes and heart to what teaching can be.
What is your favorite kid’s book?
I don’t really have a favorite kid’s book, but I did enjoy the Laura Ingalls Wilder series quite a bit as a child because it was focused on young girls and their experiences. I wish I had more options and representation of girls and women who looked like me growing up because I realized, as I tried to answer this question, that the books I read growing up did not really resonate with me or my life (or my family’s life).
If you could pick one piece of popular culture/current media/literature to expose your community to, what would it be and why?
I think that anything that shows more of the diversity, complexity, and humanity of Asian Americans and Asians globally would be great. Even though we have a long history of anti-Asian racism in our country, and it is ongoing because of the pandemic, we have a generation growing up with so much more representation of us in popular culture through films, social media, literature, TV, and music, so I would take advantage of this through all the new tech tools and apps available on our phones, laptops, and TVs. See films with Asian Americans and Asians in them. Listen to our music. Read our poetry and novels. Seek us out and see our diversity and humanity beyond our food. Educate yourself on the differences within the global Asian community and within our own Asian American community. See us.
About Linda Hasunuma:
Linda Hasunuma, PhD is an Assistant Director at the Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Temple University. With more than fifteen years of teaching experience, she has dedicated her career to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. She earned her BA and PhD in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has published in peer-reviewed journals and given commentary to the BBC World News, The Economist, and WBEZ/NPR for her work on gender politics in East Asia. She is the founder of Temple University’s first affinity group for AAPI faculty and staff.
About ansrsource:
ansrsource designs, develops, and delivers customized learning experiences with speed, scale, and sophistication. We provide learning consulting, design, and delivery services using our full-time team of hundreds of passionate global experts. We serve millions of learners using all major learning methodologies and technologies. Almost 20 years of experience working with the most compelling ideas in digital education has resulted in an unrivaled team, methodology, and process.
