by Kamna Shastri

When Taffy Johnson moved to Seattle from San Francisco in 2006, she felt alone and isolated. As a Queer Trans Pacific Islander (QTPI), there were no community organizations or gathering spaces where she could share experiences and access support with other LGBTQ Pacific Islanders. In San Francisco, Johnson had been part of a flagship organization called United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA). The space had given her a glimpse of the building blocks needed to create something similar elsewhere.