This timely event invites community members from all backgrounds to reflect on the urgent challenges facing our society and to explore pathways toward empathy, understanding, and lasting social change.

Ten days after 9/11, Rais Bhuiyan survived a brutal hate crime in Dallas, Texas, when a white supremacist shot him at point-blank range. His remarkable journey from victim to advocate led him to launch a global campaign to save his attacker from death row, ultimately inspiring the man to renounce his hateful views. Since then, Rais has dedicated his life to preventing hate and violence through restorative justice, storytelling, bridge-building, and empathy education. His story is chronicled in The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas by Anand Giridharadas, a New York Times Notable Book. Rais was invited by President Biden to share his story at the 2022 United We Stand Summit at the White House and worked with the Obama Administration’s Domestic Policy Council on efforts to counter hate and extremism. Rais has received numerous acknowledgements for his work, including the 2011 Americans of the Year by Esquire Magazine. He is the founder of World Without Hate, a nonprofit dedicated to disrupting cycles of hate and violence through empathy education and storytelling.

Mark Wright is an award-winning journalist, communications strategist, and community leader dedicated to advancing empathy and understanding through storytelling. For 35 years, Mark worked in broadcast journalism, including a distinguished career as evening news anchor for KING 5 (NBC) in Seattle. He focused on stories that explored the human experience, resilience, and the forces shaping communities. Mark is a four-time Emmy Award winner and was inducted into the Edward R. Murrow College Hall of Achievement at Washington State University. He was also part of the KING 5 team, honored with the prestigious Scripps Howard Award for Facing Race, a groundbreaking series examining systemic racism and racial inequity in America. Today, Mark continues that work through podcasting and nonprofit leadership. He serves as Board Chair of World Without Hate, a nonprofit dedicated to combating hate and building empathy through education, storytelling, and immersive experiences. He also helped launch the podcast DEIAF, hosted by diversity and inclusion leader Amelia Ransom, and co-hosts Fat Science with Dr. Emily Cooper, a podcast ranked in the top 1% globally.

Amelia Ransom, SPHR, is an accomplished DEI and HR leader with over 30 years of experience driving culture, strategy, and leadership development. As former Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Smartsheet, she led DEI initiatives and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. Previously, at Avalara, Amelia crafted their first DEI strategy and boosted company engagement. Her career began at Nordstrom, where she held leadership roles in store management, learning, and inclusion. Dedicated to community impact, Amelia serves on the boards of The Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Tomorrow, and YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish.

Darrell Hillaire is the Executive Director of Setting Sun Circle (formerly Children of the Setting Sun Productions). As previous Chairman of Lummi Nation, Darrell addressed the spoliation of ancestral lands and the epidemic of mental health and addiction that besieged Tribes. He made gains by connecting to the community and forging alliances. He has mentored every chairman who has followed him. Darrell helped found Lummi Youth Academy to educate youth on Treaty Rights, historical trauma, and Salish lifeways. This provided a mechanism for youth in foster care to reconnect with their Tribal roots. Two Academy alumni serve on Setting Sun Circle’s board. Darrell guides Setting Sun Circle with spirit. His leadership, vision for the world, and connections in the community aim to learn and grow together.

Hye-Kyung Kang, MA, MSW, Ph.D. is Professor of Social Work and the Gaffney Endowed Chair at Seattle University (SU). At SU, she founded a social justice-focused and community-based Master of Social Work Program and a Social Work Dept. She is a first-generation immigrant Korean American social worker and received her MSW and PhD from the University of Washington School of Social Work. Dr. Kang’s scholarship addresses social justice, Asian American immigrant communities, community organizing, and critical social work practice. She is concerned with the interconnection between personal struggles and structural oppression and teaches critical social work practice that integrates micro, mezzo, and macro contexts. Her upcoming co-authored book, Racism in the United States (4th ed.), interrogates the intersection between racism and the U.S. helping professions and addresses decolonial and anti-racist practice strategies. She is currently working on a memoir essay collection about love as an act of resistance and liberation.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle and World Without Hate.

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