“Vishavjit’s story is compelling and inspiring. His funny, open and honest approach really enabled our entire team to think deeper about uncomfortable topics and look at others from a new perspective. We all walked away having a new appreciation for the biases we all carry and how to retrain our brains.”
— Scott Case, Technologist, Inventor, and Entrepreneur Co-Founder of Priceline.com
“We invited Vishavjit Singh to our agency to present on diversity, bias, and the power of storytelling. Vishavjit easily engaged our employees with his powerful and moving life story, his use of cartoons to inspire conversation, and his outlook for our shared future. He expertly wove messages about the importance of vulnerability, tolerance, and the power of words into his thought provoking presentation. The only disappointment was that we couldn't host him in person. We look forward to having him visit us in Seattle to continue the conversation soon!”
— Kaci Clot, COO, POP Digital Marketing Agency
“Vishavjit spoke at our All Staff meeting. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him. As a staff member said, “Vishavjit was engaging with the audience, articulate and even funny at times as he discussed topics on race, equity, inclusion and diversity.” Another staff member stated, “He tells us his story of his own prejudices and biases as a way to say “We must talk about this openly and honestly with each other and show each other our own vulnerability. That is how we recognize it and work to change it. Without that honesty we can’t have real change. I highly recommend Vishavjit as a speaker and we would enjoy having him back.”
— Barry Gorily, CEO, Children’s Therapy Center
“Vishavjit brought his amazing presentation to the Seattle Children's Hospital audience for our quarterly speaker’s bureau on September 20, 2018. His ability to bring a unique look into equity through the lens of a cartoonist particularly as he spoke of his childhood and the adversity and racism he faced because of his religious beliefs. As a center director for health equity in a children’s hospital, Vishavjit’s story was riveting and compelling as his message was a wonderful alignment of our hospital’s vision for enhancing an equity lens to the communities we serve. I highly recommend Vishavjit to speak at your next healthcare event, you will be moved and inspired.”
— Kelli Houston, Director, Center for Diversity and Health Equity
We want to sincerely thank Vishavjit for presenting his inspiring, interactive session, “The Superhero Inside Us”. He helped us see that, like superheroes in real life and in comics, we all have vulnerabilities and strengths. Through the interactive workshop, “Our Genuine Portraits”, we listed our hero moments and our areas of tragedy and then we each drew these into a portrait. I shared mine, and it was both scary and relief to be able to share this depth of my character with nearly 100 of my coworkers. Vishavjit provided a virtual space for us to let these concepts emerge. We are so very grateful to have had him as a part of our kick-off Summit and hope to continue the tradition in years to come. We are also grateful for Vishavjit’s beautiful and elegant artwork, which we used for PowerPoint banners and for internal promotion of the summit. We would strongly encourage others to bring Vishavjit in for Inclusion and Diversity discussions.”
— Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. Inclusion and Diversity Summit Planning Team
“Vishavjit was amazing with our elementary aged kids and teens. He was authentic and his cartoons made him so accessible to the kids. Vish really helped them think about how they have superpowers, (kindness, goodness, etc) helped them to see that being different isn't just ok, it's great, and encouraged them to simply be themselves in the world. From our littlest ones to our oldest teens, Vish captivated his audience!”
— Jeana Pynes, Pastor of Families & Community Engagement, Highlands Church, North Denver
“In keeping with comic book lore, when a letter is sent to a super hero asking for help amazing things can happen. Such was my experience as a teacher of a World Religion reaching out from Santa Barbara, CA to Sikh Captain America for assistance. I wrote asking for guidance on introducing my students to the tenants of Sikhism, as relates to religious tolerance and social justice. I invited Vish to our campus to share his story with us. Amazingly he wrote back and thus began our collaboration that resulted in the most impactful experience I’ve had as a teacher. Vish’s impact on our students went beyond our classroom walls and enriched our entire school community through real conversations regarding religious diversity and necessity for respectful tolerance. The world needs superheroes such as Sikh Captain America a.k.a Vish Singh to shine a light on one another’s stories and guide us to a world worth living in and leaving to our children.”
— Kari Eiler, Marymount School, Santa Barbara, CA
“Vishavjit visited my 6th grade English Classes as we were beginning to explore how people use comics and graphic novels to work towards social justice. Through his storytelling session and workshops, he opened my students eyes to the power of graphic art to create empathy, compassion, and understanding. For many students, hearing Vishavjit talk about his own experiences growing up and how he uses cartoons to challenge bias and stereotypes was nothing short of transformative. Vishavjit's time with my students brought a level of depth and purpose to their work that wasn't there before and created space for my students to tell their own stories about difference and belonging.”
— Neidich Mallory, English Teacher and Advisor, The Chapin School, New York City
Vishavjit was the keynote speaker at the Civil Rights Team Project Statewide Conference in 2016. Vish was a hit with our group of over 500 middle level and high school students. He worked well with both age groups. His message was both specific and universal, as he used his own story of embracing his Sikh identity to challenge students to think about their own identities. He shared his own cartoons and inspired students to create some wonderful artwork themselves. And finally, Vish was a pleasure to work with! He was willing to tailor his presentation to fit our needs, and even checked in with us afterwards to share his experiences and solicit feedback. Overall, it was a wonderful experience for all of us.
— Brandon Baldwin, Project Director, Civil Rights Team Project, Office of the Maine Attorney General
“Vishavjit’s talk, Diversity of Our Stories: A Non-Data approach in a Data Centric World, is both an entertaining blend of whimsical art and jokes and also a deeply personal foray in finding one’s identity in an increasingly tech-driven world. Vishavjit’s individual story about growing up in the US and India, working in software, and becoming a social activist is woven beautifully with commentaries on changes in the socio-economic landscape (e.g. Sikh oppression in India, 9/11, police brutality and response). Though the subject matter was serious, Vishavjit’s talk was captivating and hopeful and a joy to listen to. As a PoC grappling with self-identity while working in tech, Diversity of Our Stories resonated greatly with me. It reminds us that we all have the power to reject hate and division and embrace the uniqueness in others and in ourselves.”
— Vincent Chen, Asian Googlers Network
“Vishavjit brought creativity and discernment to our partnership – and it was just that, a partnership. he went out of his way to understand our agency needs both for a powerful keynote that would motivate donors to give, and also a multi-part workshop to support our youth in discovering their inner superpowers. he went above and beyond, helping us develop relationships, design assets for T-shirt and event collateral, and a tip card for battling intolerance. our donors loved him, our youth loved him, our staff loved him. In the end he became part of our agency family, and we can’t wait to see him and share the long-term effects of his work the next time he is back in town.”
— Maya Hemachandra, Resource Development Director, Solid Ground
“Vishavjit is one of the most genuine and inspiring leaders that I have had the pleasure of working with while at the NYC Mayor's Office. He was instrumental in the early outreach efforts for NYC's mental health initiative, ThriveNYC. We worked together to organize a major public event geared towards eliminating the stigma around mental health . Before several hundred people, Vishvajit served as a panelist along with NYC Deputy Mayor Richard Buery. Using his creativity, experience, and understanding of intersectionality, he elevated the discourse on mental health for our staff and his participation has had a lasting impact. Vishavjit continues to be a frequent advisor to the Mayor's Office and agencies such as the Department of Education. I can't wait to see what his professionalism, easy-going style, and commitment to helping others will lead to next.”
— Nick Gulotta, Director of Outreach & Organizing at NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
I first got to know Vishavjit when Teaching Tolerance magazine featured him in an article titled "Behind the Shield" (spring 2015). During our time working on that story together, I came to know Vish as a creative and dedicated crusader for social justice. He has a clear vision for how art can be used to open minds and empower young people. He also has a compelling personal story that he uses humbly and effectively to connect with people from all walks of life. Since the article was published, I have had the pleasure of reading and sharing a number of Vish's pieces on his experiences as a Sikh American. I have found him to be a great communicator, a respectful collaborator and, most important, a true believer in the power of art to transform hearts and minds and make the world more peaceful.
— Adrienne van der Valk, Co-founder & CEO, Square Lighting Communications & Design
“Vishavjit came to one of my courses at Millsaps College a few years back to speak with my students on the Sikh faith. He gave an informative and engaging presentation, after which he took questions of particular concern to my students. It was a wonderful addition to the semester for my students, and I would recommend his work to other instructors. Not only was he helpful for our learning, he was a delight to work with and get to know!”
— Shelli Poe, Visiting Professor, Iliff School of Theology