Mia Nakano is an artist, archivist, social change maker rooted in Oakland, CA. Her work is shaped through her experiences as a proud 4th generation Japanese American, queer woman of color, daughter of a single mother, and sister of a deaf adult. She is a self-taught artist, who advocates strategic and ethical use of the arts to make social change.

Nakano is the Founding Executive Director of the Visibility Project and Co-founding Executive Director of the Resilience Archives. She is a board member of Banteay Srei, whose work is dedicated to ending the sexual exploitation of young Southeast Asian women in Oakland. She is on the leadership team of the Asian American for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network, and co-founder of Hyphen magazine. Nakano has dedicated the last fifteen years of her life to uplifting the stories and histories of LGBTQ Asian Pacific Americans.

She has contributed work to Colorlines, the Kathmandu Post, Democracy Now! the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Institute, Salon.com, APEX Express, Intersection for the Arts, and the de Young. She is a strategic consultant for artists, non-profits, and small businesses. She believes in doing what you love as much as possible and that no meal is complete without cheese.