Shiree Teng is a community organizer, storyteller, and healer who believes that love and courage will lead the way towards our collective liberation. An immigrant kid who grew up organizing, she has never stopped.

Grounded in radical love, Shiree challenges the burnout culture pervasive in the nonprofit sector. She is a truth-teller and healer who names what others are afraid to say, while giving leaders tools to reimagine the work together. With deep insights into race, class, gender, and power dynamics, she brings a rare lived understanding to her work, inspiring countless leaders to own their power and tell their stories.

For over 35 years, Shiree has worked as a consultant to foundations, nonprofits, and grassroots collectives—leading strategy, measuring impact, and centering the voices of those most impacted by racism and oppression.

Shiree with her Kingmakers of Oakland team at their 2024 Spring Symposium. From left to right: Dennis Smith, Rahsaan Smith, Rumi Smith, Shiree Teng, and Kelechi Ubozoh.


We all carry stories… of light, love, dark, difficult, glorified, down and out.
My Love Letter to Boston is a story of my very formative years as a fresh-off-the-plane immigrant. Sharing this story is part of my own journey to reclaim my whole self, become who I’m becoming, and not hide my light under a bushel. I thank my son Rumi Smith for visualizing my words.