Workshop Recording: Advancing Connections and Community-Based Practices for Trauma-Informed Care for AAPI Communities

PHI’s Lotus Project: Spring 2025 Washington DC Workshop

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are one of the fastest growing communities in the metropolitan D.C. area. With the mental health needs of AAPIs long neglected and the transition to the new federal administration, the need for strengthening coalitions among communities to enhance mental health and other social service programs for AAPIs has never been more pressing.

This in-person workshop from the Lotus Project, a project of PHI’s Health Intervention Projects for Underserved Populations, explores current local and national issues in delivering and accessing mental health services in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, facilitate collaboration and networking among participants and discuss unique challenges and successes in providing culturally competent community-based practices and programs for AAPIs in the greater metropolitan D.C. area. The discussions help foster advocacy efforts at both the federal and local government levels, focusing on allocating more resources and opportunities for trauma-informed care and prevention for AAPI children and families.

Welcome Note

Presented by
Tooru Nemoto, PhD (Public Health Institute – Lotus Project) | Contact: tnemoto@phi.org
Jennifer Bouey, MD, PhD, MPH (Georgetown University) | Contact: jennifer.bouey@georgetown.edu

Keynote Opening

Presented by
Ben de Guzman (DC Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs – MOAPIA)
Contact: ben.deguzman@dc.gov

Message from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

Presented by
Rowena Mudiappa, LCSW, IMH-E Mentor-Clinical (NCTSN); Slides
Contact: rowena.mudiappa@duke.edu

Session 1: Panel Discussion – Uniting for Resilience: Strategies for Improving Trauma-Informed Care from National AAPI Organizations

Moderator: Frankie Wong, PhD (Florida State University) | Contact: fwong@fsu.edu

Speakers/Panelists:
Mia Ayer, MA (Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum – APIAHF) | Slides | Contact: mayer@apiahf.org
Pata Suyemoto, PhD (National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association- NAAPIMHA) | Slides | Contact: pata@naapimha.org
Kham S. Moua (Southeast Asia Resource Action Center – SEARAC)

Session 2: Panel Discussion – Uniting for Resilience: Strategies for Improving Trauma-Informed Care from National AAPI Organizations

Discussant: Jennifer Bouey, MD, PhD, MPH (Georgetown University)

Speakers/Panelists:
Siu Cheung Rossmark (Asian American LEAD – AALEAD) | Contact: scheung@aalead.org
Xiaoping Shao, MD & Huixing (Kate) Lu, MSW (CCACC Health Center) | Slides | Contacts: xshao2013@gmail.com, kate.lu@ccacc-dc.org
Hyun Sun Park & Kwangsuk Hutchinson, MA, QMHP-A (Korean Community Service Center – KCSC – of Greater Washington) | Slides | Contacts: hspark@kcscgw.org, khutchinson@kcscgw.org
Elizabeth Chung, MS (The Asian American Center of Frederick – AACF) | Slides | Contact: echung@aacfmd.org

Session 3: Panel Discussion – Perspectives from AAPI Youth on Trauma-Informed Care in Asian American Communities

Moderators: Cruz Chan, MA, LMFT, RDT (Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS) – Lotus Project), Ellen Chang, MSW/MPH (Public Health Institute – Lotus Project) | Contacts: cruzchan@ramsinc.org, echang@phi.org

Panelists:
Winnie Chen | Contact: winniechan2341@gmail.com
Mridula Vasudevan | Contact: mridulavasudevan09@gmail.com
Jordan Pai | Contact: jorpai0505@gmail.com
Tiffany Nguyen | Contact: tnn15@georgetown.edu
Alvin Tong | Contact: alvinalvint2017@gmail.com

Closing Remarks

Presented by
Angela Tang, MSW, LCSW (RAMS – Lotus Project) | Slides | Contact: angelatang@ramsinc.org

Highlights Video

All videos by: Zhibo Lai, @filmzhibo

Originally published by The Lotus Project