Kurt Manuel (he/him) is a queer, Filipinx of Ilongo and Pangasinense descent, born and currently residing in Southeast Michigan—the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg. He grew up with the sound of his Lolo’s velvety singing in his ears and under the canopy of his Lola’s abundant garden. He has the tenacity of his mother and believes her stories of encounters with forest sprites. Kurt snores like his father and aspires to have his gift of natural ingenuity.

​

In the summer, he sings to his garden of long beans, tomatoes, and eggplants so they can make the best sinigang. 

 

Kurt works in data science and has combined his passion for technology and education to lead the operations of a free, non-profit IT career program focusing on women and people of color breaking into the tech space. In 2020, Kurt was diagnosed with the auto-immune disease Lupus and found that being guided and rooted in Kapwa was fundamental to his path to healing.

He loves slow Sunday mornings, dinners with friends, a good song, and is currently working on restoring his kinship with all of nature's beings. He is a member of the Detroit Filipino Supper Club, where he found kindred spirits and an awakening for deeper discovery and a renewed curiosity for his indigenous Filipino roots.