KaeLyn Elizabeth Lee Rich

KaeLyn Elizabeth Lee Rich uses her voice to teach about activism, intersectionality, and LGBTQ issues, empowering others to make positive change in their community.

An adoptee from South Korea, KaeLyn always knew she was different from others in her community. She and her sister were the only Asian children in the small town of Sheridan, NY. The feeling of empathy she developed for others from being an outsider herself, paired with growing up in an active union family and finding feminism in college, led her down a path to becoming an activist.

Her voice, expressed through the power of her words, teaches others inside and outside the classroom, about intersectionality, activism and organizing, and LGBTQ issues. Her book, Girls Resist!: A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution, gives young women who want to make positive change in their communities and the world, a basic recipe to guide them. Her message to young people is, “You don’t have to wait to start working toward the change you want to see in the world. You have all the tools you need right now. You don’t need to wait for permission.”