More About Bernice

Hello! I'm Bernice Julie Shaw, and my pronouns are she/her/"B". I am currently adventuring as a “Free Radical” and “Social Change Energizer” in my quest to support whole-movements with whole-people.

For over a decade, I had the privilege of growing a vibrant organization, the Center for Story-based Strategy (CSS). At CSS, I operationalized an infrastructure for in-demand trainings and strategy projects, reaching hundreds of organizations and leaders transforming narratives at the intersection of pollution, poverty, and racism.

Currently, I consult with teams and organizations who are in need of a short-term boost of facilitative partnership. I infuse creativity, play, and thoughtful planning with an energetic approach for change. 



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I believe each powerful storyteller and movement leader I’ve learned from is a unique star in my constellation as a youngish AAPI womxn striving for social change.

Just as unique as the individuals that have touched me… are the projects and movement moments I’ve been a part of.



From organizing local actions with Asians 4 Black Lives in Oakland, CA to fighting for Homes For All against the housing and foreclosure crises in Charlotte, NC…

To marching alongside water defenders fighting for climate justice in St. Louis, MO, building regenerative economies in Buffalo, NY, and assembling to remember sovereign futures with/in communities…

The story of change is often a changing story, and I've learned that speaking truth to power happens through an infinite prism of liberation beyond words.

I am also a proud and complicated daughter of east Asian diaspora, my family's migration story links back to Taiwan / Formosa and Japan. I was born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, and am now residing on Ohlone Land aka Oakland, CA. I’m still uncovering my ancestral roots and lineage, and I’ve recently reclaimed my dysfunctional relationship with English as my third or fourth tongue (still fuzzy)!



Before my work at the Center for Story-based Strategy, I operated a food truck, produced the JazzReggae festival as a cultural organizer at UCLA, and worked on various projects to bring my politics and passions together.

I am constantly floating in duality and navigating contradiction like the lot of us true believers in radical imagination, love and justice— so you might also find me playing jazz, golfing, and eating tapioca / boba— reaching double happiness when they co-occur!





“We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness. In this exquisitely connected world, it's never a question of 'critical mass.' It's always about critical connections.” —Grace Lee Boggs