Profile

Role: Assistant Professor

Education:  BSW, University of Hawai'i,  Manoa; MSW, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; PhD in Social Welfare, University of Washington, Seattle. 

Experience:  Asian Pacific Islanders (API) children,  youth, and families; community  organizing; youth organizing; emerging  adulthood; non-profit organizations; multicultural education  & research; community based research; rural and urban macro social work; program development  and evaluation; research in the area of mental health (e.g., school-based &  community-based prevention programs, & multi-systemic therapy). 

Interests:  sociopolitical development among youth & young adults; critical pedagogies of place &  social justice work; indigenization of social movements;  health & mental health promotion among Asian Pacific Islanders & other marginalized populations; determinants/disparities of health &   mental health with  specific attention to socio-economic, cultural, & historical contexts & the dynamics between agent (individual) & structure (resources both informal & formal);  culturally  responsible mental health & health interventions & services that enhance positive pathways to  healthy  adulthood, empowerment, & resiliency; adult allies; psychopolitical validity; cultural  responsible research methodologies. 

Teaching Areas:  undergraduate inquiry courses on race & social justice, & family studies; child &  family studies professional development; anti-oppressive & empowerment social work practice;   health & mental health promotion among youth & young adults; community based/macro social work.