Mission
AMHC normalizes and de-stigmatizes mental health within the Asian community.
Vision
AMHC aspires to make mental health easily available, approachable, and accessible to Asian communities worldwide.
Values
Connecting our inner selves
Creating a supportive and empathetic community
Collaborating with mental health professionals, providers, and organizations
Celebrating our mental health stories as Asians
Purpose
With the rapid development of and focus on personal well-being in individualistic societies, people are now more aware of the detrimental effects of poor mental health and mental illnesses than ever before.
AMHC hopes to help bridge those divides.
We do not need, or want, to do away with centuries of beloved culture and tradition for the sake of mental health. We at AMHC believe in integrating our shared backgrounds with the progressive ideals of emotional well-being and mental health - expressing collectivist ideals while respecting the agency of the individual. It all begins with understanding. Through projects such as our Facebook group, resource library, video web-series, and meetup groups, we hope to not only provide mental health support, but also facilitate the difficult conversations we need to have to move forward together.
AMHC's 2023 Annual Review
2023 was AMHC’s busiest year of progress and improvement to date. Between doubling the value of our Lotus Therapy Fund, hosting hundreds of community support hours, and growing our therapist directory to over 2,600 providers, we’ve been hard at work making good on our founding mission: normalize and de-stigmatize Asian mental health.
You can check out our annual review below (opens in new tab). Please consider donating if you are able to support what we do for our communities!
Who We Are
The Asian Mental Health Collective is led by a team of passionate and dedicated mental health professionals, advocates, and community leaders.
Ayesha Meer
Executive Director
Rapid City, SD, USA
Ayesha Meer (she/her) is an Indian South African immigrant to the US. She holds an MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management from New York University, which she completed as a Fulbright Grantee. Before joining AMHC, she served as Executive Director of Artemis House (Victims of Violence Intervention Program) - a domestic and sexual violence shelter and response organization in Spearfish, SD. As the first director of color, Ayesha led Artemis House through transition from providing colorblind services to actively honoring and recognizing the unique experiences of their largely Indigenous clientele. Ayesha is passionate about preventing nonprofit burnout and encouraging boundaries and balance in the workplace.
In her home country of South Africa, Ayesha worked in community organizing around issues of education equality and gender justice. She has held project manager positions at the organizations Equal Education and Olico Education in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In her free time, Ayesha is an avid knitter, home cook and bread baker. She currently lives in Western South Dakota (unceded Oceti Sakowin Territory) with her partner and dog.
Lauren Pongan
Senior Director of Programming
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Lauren Pongan (she/her) brings nearly a decade of experience working in the health equity nonprofit space to her role as AMHC’s Senior Director of Programming.
Previously, Lauren led the Diverse Elders Coalition, a multi-ethnic coalition of 6 national organizations that advocate for policies and programs that improve aging for racially and ethnically diverse people, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and LGBTQ+ people.
At the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Lauren worked to support and build a network of leaders of AANHPI community-based organizations by co-designing, developing, and facilitating signature federal advocacy and leadership trainings.
Her other past experience includes managing direct service programs for Asian American immigrants, refugees, and elders, and Pennsylvania’s only Asian American focused domestic violence services program at SEAMAAC, Inc. She has also managed a coalition of multilingual Asian American Affordable Care Act navigator organizations to increase access to affordable health insurance for Asian Americans throughout Pennsylvania.
Lauren identifies as a biracial second-generation Filipina American. She earned a Master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Washington, where she studied Filipino history, language, and politics. She lives in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In her free time, she can be found reading, getting outside, crafting, and cooking.
Christopher Vo, LMFT
Clinical Director
Houston, TX, USA
Christopher (he/him/his) is a licensed marriage and family therapist based out of Houston, Texas. He has worked in a variety of settings including non-profit organizations serving low-income populations, and juvenile detention facilities working with sexual trauma and gang violence. Chris currently works in private practice with a broad range of clients.
Christopher is guided by the belief that we are all imperfect people hoping to be better. Sometimes failing, sometimes successful, but always hopeful. Normalizing mental health and vulnerability is a central mission for Christopher, and he feels it is the best way to foster connection.
In his spare time, Christopher wrestles with existential dread, imposter syndrome, and enjoys fishing for big game fish.
Lisa Cheng, M.S.W.
Subtle Asian Mental Health Director
Houston, TX, USA
Lisa (she/her/hers) is a first generation Chinese-American based out of Chicago, Illinois. At AMHC, Lisa serves as the Director of Human Resources. In this role, she supports subtle asian mental health on Facebook and is the Internship and Volunteer Coordinator at AMHC. Inspired by community organizers, Lisa is especially passionate about addressing structural and systemic change. She is dedicated to addressing mental health in a grassroots, community-first manner. Lisa’s personal mission is “to do good,” and this led her to study for her Master’s of Social Work at the University of Chicago. As someone who sees a therapist every week, Lisa aims to help destigmatize mental health in the Asian community by normalizing therapy and conversations about mental health.
Lisa has served in housing and homelessness for the last 4 years. During her internship experiences in Chicago, Japan, and South Africa, she saw firsthand how factors like the environment, food security, housing, and homelessness affect people all over the world. Witnessing how these structural issues impact society has motivated Lisa to address barriers to mental health access. Lisa is passionate about the intersection of social justice and mental health and currently serves as a Mental Health Justice Organizer at ONE: Northside and as a Civic Engagement Educator at the University of Chicago.
In her free time, Lisa enjoys reading, weightlifting, running, dancing, and cooking.
John Dorris, LCMHCA
Lotus Therapy Fund Director
Boone, NC, USA
John (he/him/his) is a Filipino-American Technology Consultant in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and has worked with clients around the world to create custom solutions for their digital needs. Currently working for a client in the online education space, he leads a team of developers who support a new data platform from database to data visualization. Stemming from issues of anxiety in the past and a close friend passing due to mental health issues, he has a strong interest in mental health advocacy and destigmatization. His dream is to combine his technology experience with his interest in mental health to help others in his community.
In his spare time, he loves to play music and be outdoors. He plays in a band, has a YouTube channel, and has hiked the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail.
Alex San Diego
Marketing Director
Edmonton, AB, CA
Alex San Diego (she/they) is a Filipino-Canadian mental health advocate from Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Treaty No.6 Territory), also known as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She holds her Master’s Degree in East Asian Studies, and has worked with youth mental health organizations from across Canada for over 10 years. They believe in the power of communication and conversation to make the world a better place and apply this belief to her advocacy work.
As the Marketing Director at AMHC, they support all communications and marketing efforts at AMHC from partnerships to digital media to brand identity.
Alex also works as Creative Director for a Canadian digital media agency working to combine culture & community with content in order to support the dreams and goals of local businesses, including several Asian-owned businesses.
In her spare time, Alex organizes local K-pop fan events, works on her K-pop photocard collection and goes cafe hopping with her friends.
Jocelyn Lai, PhD
Program Evaluation Coordinator
St. Louis, MO, USA
Jocelyn (she/her/hers) is an emotion educator and affective scientist, born and raised in sunny California. Over the years, she’s become aware of the lack of dialogue around emotions and mental health in her Taiwanese-Vietnamese family as well as close others in the Asian American community. From this, she became fascinated by differences in how people come to understand their own emotions. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in psychology at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on examining factors that contribute to how emotions are experienced and managed across different populations.
In addition to her research, Jocelyn offers workshops and coursework on understanding emotions. As a first-generation college student from a low-income household, she also enjoys mentoring her undergraduate students, many of whom have shared lived experiences. Through AMHC, she hopes to use her research and non-profit skills to create educational programming and supportive spaces to normalize mental health. Jocelyn finds little moments of happiness in dancing, jazz music, chai lattes, southern California beaches in the Fall, and all things corgi or black-sesame related.
Suzanna So, PhD, LP
Program Evaluation Coordinator
Southern California, USA
Suzanna (she/her/Dr) is a Chinese American psychologist originally from the Windy City of Chicago and currently living in sunny Southern California. She is an Assistant Professor at California State University Long Beach, where she trains future LMFTs and LPCCs. While growing up, she was curious about why people were the way that they were, why some people seemed more resilient/resistant to stressful environments, and why the world seemed so unfair to certain groups. Over time, she saw firsthand how grief, intergenerational trauma, and unrecognized mental health concerns impacted those around her. To answer all the "why's," she pursued a PhD in Clinical Psychology to be able to empower and elevate the voices of those who are marginalized. Her clinical work and research has focused on stress and trauma among youth and families from minoritized backgrounds, and she is particularly interested in promoting positive mental health outcomes through culturally-sensitive treatments. Outside of her workaholic nature, she loves to spend time with friends and family, play with her dogs, do nature photography, eat yummy foods, and watch fun movies.
Laura Luo
Treasurer
San Francisco, CA, USA
Born in Sichuan, China, Laura (she/her/hers) is a first-generation Chinese Canadian. She is currently a MBA student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Previously Laura worked as an investor working with technology and healthcare companies.
Laura has been involved in various ventures and organizations in mental health and women’s health. Through her own journey recovering from an eating disorder as a teenager, Laura saw first-hand the stigma and challenges in accessing proper mental healthcare amongst many Asian families. She became passionate about harnessing her lived experience to support others and bring more open conversations, awareness, and access to mental healthcare to her communities. As one of the early founding members, Laura oversaw the finance and fundraising of AMHC in the past years and she is excited to be part of the continued growth of AMHC.
In her free time, Laura enjoys running, hiking, skiing, trying out coffee spots, and spicy food in the city!
Michael Ge
LTF Coordinator
Madison, WI, USA
MIchael Ge (he/him) does digital marketing and web design in New York City. Raised in Wisconsin, he spent lots of time figuring out what his Asian identity meant– he’s firmly settled on the answer of equally loving cheese curds and red braised pork.
He works alongside minority- and immigrant-owned businesses in NYC and Wisconsin, crafting websites, consulting on business strategy, and creating educational marketing resources. Michael graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (‘22), where he built a pan-Asian mental health conference and discovered that the wonder of on-demand cafeteria chicken tenders does, indeed, get stale. Having made pit-stops in education, healthcare IT, and software development, he’s eagerly focusing his energies into for-impact work. Michael loves connecting with like-minded people (maybe it’s you, if you’ve read this far 😁)!
When Michael isn’t working, he is an avid breaker, locker, and house dancer. When his knees aren’t working, he’s busy getting through his immense backlog of video games. He always adores cooking and catching a Liverpool match on weekends.
James Wu
Board Member
Brooklyn, NY, USA
James Wu has 20+ years experience partnering with leaders building a more just, fair, and interdependent world. As the Founder and Managing Director of Studio Tomo, he's had the privilege of working with National Geographic, Duolingo, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Natural Resources Defense Council, WITNESS, PolicyLink, Ultraviolet, and the United Nations Development Programme. Recently, as Partner and Head of Planning at A—B Partners—a multiracial, multi-gendered creative agency committed to centering the voices of BIPOC communities—he helped build brands and campaigns for leading organizations working on climate justice, disinformation, reparations, criminal justice reform, and gender and reproductive justice.
Previously, James was a Senior Strategist at SYP where he led Fortune 500 executives through large-scale transformation. Prior to SYP, James was Head of Branding and Creative Direction for the nonprofit impact investor, Acumen; worked in development for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); and served as Director of Business Development for the digital consultancy, Modea.
James served as the President of the Marketing Advisory Board at Virginia Tech and is a founding member of the department’s DEIB Working Group. He has guest lectured for the Virginia Tech Honors College Presidential Global Scholars in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, the University of Warwick in the UK, John Jay College’s Moelis Social Entrepreneurship Fellows, and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Ryan Chong
Support Group Lead
Akron, OH, USA
Ryan (he/him) is a Singaporean Chinese pursuing a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology. His passion for mental health wellness and desire to strengthen his cultural identity were what first drew him to AMHC. He believes in seeking and doing what matters, the power of community, serving the underserved, challenging dominant narratives, and promoting social justice. He has received clinical training in community mental health, university counseling and hospital settings, and hopes to continue empowering others in his future work. For his self-care, Ryan enjoys the great outdoors and staying active through endurance sports.
Christian De Luna, M.A.
Board Member
St. Louis, MO, USA
Christian (he/him/his) is a Filipino-American new to the Bay Area hailing from the Greater New York Metropolitan area (specifically by way of the GREATEST New Jersey area). He works at Apple as a project manager and has a personal passion for exploring the intersection of mental health and technology. A 16-year survivor of Major Depressive Disorder, Christian strives to explore new ways of fostering awareness and understanding of mental illness through digital storytelling.
Christian wrote his Master’s thesis at Columbia University on the depiction of Depression in video games and their efficacy in promoting empathy compared to other media. Currently, he is designing Virtual Reality experiences that portray mental health disorders through different perspectives. He helped co-found WAVES in NYC in 2019 to create a space to share Asian stories and to destigmatize conversation around mental health.
In his free time, Christian likes to lounge on the couch with some streaming and video games or go completely off the grid into nature.
Linda Thai, LMSW
Board Member
Fairbanks, AK, USA
Jeanie Y. Chang
LMFT, CCTP, CIMHP
Board President
Raleigh, NC, USA
Jeanie Chang is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Founder of Your Change Provider, PLLC®, an interdisciplinary practice founded on solutions and her unique framework Cultural Condence®. Jeanie is a bestselling author and an accomplished international speaker for corporations, community organizations, and colleges on topics such as burnout, resilience, mindfulness, stress, and mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Jeanie is also a McKinsey & Company external faculty and leadership coach, corporate wellness and DEI consultant, and clinical expert for college student organizations. In addition, she is a teacher on Headspace, and provides support groups around the country for DEI and AAPI leaders as well as journalists.
Jeanie founded the national Cultural Confidence® program which she created to provide psychoeducation in all sectors from corporate to schools. She has presented her trademarked curriculum for corporations such as Cisco, Eaton, Hallmark, Lenovo, Microsoft, National Football League, Salesforce, SAS Institute, Inc., SC Johnson, and Truist. She has also spearheaded her program for non-profits including the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), the Council of Korean Americans (CKA), The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), and the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). This year, Jeanie launched her own YouTube Channel called, "Noona's Noonchi" where she does a deep dive into Korean dramas from a mental health perspective. Her first book, A is for Authentic: Not for Anxieties or for Straight A's, is a #1 international bestseller on Amazon.
Jeanie is a Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional (CIMHP) and a Certied Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) with experience in grief and trauma. In addition, Jeanie holds specialized training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Jeanie followed a calling in mental health after a diverse career path. She rst started as a broadcast journalist in Washington, DC, then went on to attend business school. Her work in the corporate sector includes business operations, marketing, public relations, and client success management.
Jeanie is an active volunteer in the Asian American community. She serves as President and Board Chair of Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC) and co-leads the Women's Affinity Group for the Council of Korean Americans. She is also the founder of the Self-Care & Wellness program for NAAAP. Recently, Jeanie founded her own non-profit organization called, Authentic Self-Care & Wellness, Inc. whose mission is to support non-profits and its leaders around the country.
For her own self-care, Jeanie loves watching K-Dramas and kayaking with her husband of 23 years and spending time with her four kids ages 14 - 21.
919-867-1191 | YourChangeProvider.com | connect@yourchangeprovider.com
DJ Chuang
Board Member
Orange County, CA, USA
DJ works as a strategy consultant with nonprofits to increase their effectiveness in using the latest digital tools for innovative breakthroughs. He delights in sharing his life experiences in the philanthropy and nonprofit sectors, especially to empower Asian American communities. His advocacy for mental health emerged from his own personal lived experiences, recovery, and actively engaging in on-going self-care.
DJ is also co-founder and co-host of the Erasing Shame podcast, where we have honest talk for healthy living—emotionally, relationally, mentally, personally, DJ authored a book, MultiAsian.Church: A Future for Asian Americans in a Multiethnic World. And his personal life goals are M.S.G = multiethnic diversity + erasing shame + generosity.
Kaila S. Tang, LCSW
Board Member
Atlanta, GA, USA
Kaila (she/her/hers) identifies as 2nd generation Chinese American. She completed her graduate education in clinical psychology and social work from Columbia University and the University of Southern California, respectively. Kaila is currently a candidate at the Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute.
A San Francisco native, Kaila is now based in Atlanta where she works as a psychotherapist. In private practice, she works predominantly with AAPI folx on issues pertaining to attachment, stress, and identity. Kaila is passionate about advocating for racial, gender, class, and mental healthcare equity in a variety of settings.
When she isn’t working, Kaila can be found cuddling with her three cats, searching for the best eats, and watching the latest cartoon or horror series.
