Joseph “JoJo” Ruanto-Ramirez

Professor Joseph Allen "JoJo" Ruanto-Ramirez is Queer, Buddhist, Indigenous Asian American, scholar-activist, refugee who came to the United States as a natural disaster refugee in 1991 from the Philippines. His mother is Sambali, Sambal-Ita (Aeta), and Iranun (Moro), while his father is Ilokano, Ifugao (Igorot), and Fukkien/Hokkien Chinese. He received his B.A. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego, and his M.A. in Sociological Practice from California State University, San Marcos. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in an interdisciplinary program in Cultural Studies and American Studies at Claremont Graduate University. 

He also serves on the County of San Diego's Leon L. Williams Human Relations Commission as Commissioner for Asian and Pacific Islander Relations, chair of the San Diego County Office of Education's Asian American and Pasifika Advisory, and is also a consultant in equity, diversity, and inclusion for local businesses and organizations. He is the Forum Editor for Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies.