Rev. Lia Nagase

My name is Lia Nagase, my pronouns are she/ella, and I am the founder and Executive Director of 170 Trees Society.

I am a parent, a singer, and a hopeful, grounded, loving person. I am imperfect! I value authenticity, love, compassion, dedication to continuing to work on our own stuff to improve our lives and communities and decrease the harm we do to others, and working toward liberation for all.

I am silly at times but never lose connection with all that exists around me. I love people and also experience great sorrow over what we do to each other.

I live in Costa Rica with my partner, kids, mother-in-law, and about a million animals (14 in all! Indoor and outdoor animals in different parts of the property—not bad for someone with really huge allergies!).

Oakland is my hometown and still has my heart, I lived for 16 years of living in the Portland, OR area, and I had a 14 month stint on the East Coast living in Somerville, MA. I sing, write songs, play the piano (picked it up again recently with lessons), and humbly continue to attempt to learn to play the guitar.

My faith and religious journey has been winding, and I’m grateful to be solidly in an interfaith space, where all my stops are honored. My ordination was through The Chaplaincy Institute as an interfaith minister, my certificate for Interspiritual Companioning and Counseling is through One Spirit Learning Alliance, and I also completed a Certificate in Thanatology through The Art of Dying Institute at One Spirit. View the videos below to see a sample of my speaking!