Kiyomi Kowalski, JD

Kiyomi is a mom, a Marine Corps veteran, an activist, and a social justice advocate.

From 1997 to 2001, Kiyomi was an active-duty Marine, during which time she served both at home and abroad and achieved the rank of Corporal. After being honorably discharged, Kiyomi attended the California State University of Northridge, where she earned a Bachelor’s in political science. Kiyomi then went on to law school, earning a Juris Doctorate with Public Service Distinction from Southwestern Law School in 2012. Since graduating law school, Kiyomi has continued her education, both formally and informally, and, most recently, earned a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. Kiyomi is particularly focused on productive dialogue and utilizes non-violent communication techniques to support all of her efforts.

Kiyomi is a social justice advocate who is focused, first and foremost, on eradicating racism. To that end, she created and chaired both the Social Justice Collective and Anti-racism Task Force for the Board of Jewish Education at Valley Outreach Synagogue in Calabasas. Kiyomi launched the Anti- racism Task Force with a multi-synagogue speaking tour in which she spoke to the congregations of several local synagogues about her experiences as a Jew of color, both within and outside of the Jewish community. She then expanded the Task Force to also provide an ongoing series of panels, workshops, and discussions on race and racism. Under Kiyomi’s leadership, the Anti- racism Task Force has now partnered with the USC Casden Institute, Hebrew Union College, and Jewish Center for Justice to bring this same sort of anti-racist programming to the broader Jewish community.

In 2021, Kiyomi co-founded JewbianPrincess.com, an organization led by Black women committed to celebrating inclusion across the Jewish diaspora. She was a 2021 Uri L’Tzedek Torah In Action Summer Fellow, and is a current member of Cohort 17 of the Bend The Arc Selah Leadership Program for Jewish leaders of color and a 2022 Jewtina y Co. PUENTES Leadership and Resiliency Fellow.

In addition to her work within the Jewish community, Kiyomi also works with the local schools to help educate teachers and students about racism. She has been a featured speaker at an anti-racist professional development course for K-12 teachers in the Las Virgenes School District. Kiyomi is also the former co-president and current active member of the San Fernando Valley chapter of Mocha Moms, Inc., a national non-profit organization, where she helps organize events and meetings about issues that impact mothers of color.

Recognizing that racism intersects with and is embedded in many social ills, Kiyomi advocates for and works on several issues that, while not expressly tied to racism, nevertheless reflect or build upon the systemic racism in our society. For example, Kiyomi expanded the Social Justice Collective to add an Environment and Power Task Force, which focuses on environmental justice. Kiyomi is also a founding board member and staff advocate at LAW Project of Los Angeles, a non-profit organization which advocates for system-involved youth and families and assists individuals with post-conviction remedies.

In addition to all of the above, Kiyomi is active in local and statewide politics. She is an Assembly District 46 (formerly Assembly District 45) Delegate and serves on the Executive Board and the Platform Committee of the California State Democratic Party. Kiyomi is a proud alumna of New Politics Leadership Academy, where she serves on the Alumni Executive Council and leads the Anti-racism and Black Alumni Service Resiliency Circles. She is also an alumna of Emerge California, a national organization that prepares Democratic women to run for office. Kiyomi has served on the school district level Curriculum Council and holds a position on California State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel’s advisory council. In 2021, Kiyomi was awarded Democrat of the Year by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and Activist of the Year by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel for her work in Assembly District 45.

Kiyomi lives in the suburbs of Los Angeles with her two children, ages 7 and 15, and her partner of 12 years. When she is not taking on the patriarchy, racism, and antisemitism, you can find Kiyomi watercolor painting, embroidering, and sewing pieces of flare to inspire a more just world.

Check out www.KiyomiKowalski.com and follow @KiyomiKowalski on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn more about her other projects.