Mission
The Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC) fosters healing, resilience and connection in Asian communities in the US through culturally-informed clinical services, virtual peer support spaces, and support for Asian mental health providers.
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 2024 Annual Review
In 2024, our Lotus Therapy Fund, offered 2,500+ hours of free therapy, and our therapist directory grew to over 3,400 providers! We held 8 community support groups and processing spaces totalling over 51 hours of community support.
Since we were founded in 2020, our mission here at AMHC has evolved. We no longer focus solely on destigmatizing mental health but also on cultivating a shared culture of care within the Asian diaspora.
You can check out our annual review below (opens in new tab). Please donate to help us continue this important work!
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, LMSW
Subtle Asian Mental Health Director
Houston, TX, USA
Lisa (she/they/他) is a dedicated community organizer, advocate, decorated national athlete, proud mental health advocate, and loving daughter. Based in Houston, Texas, she holds a Master of Social Work from The University of Chicago and a BA in Sociology and Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University.
With over six years of experience, Lisa has made a significant impact advancing BIPOC communities through transformative initiatives and systemic change. As a co-founder of the Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC), Lisa has played a key role in raising over $2 million for mental health resources and reaching hundreds of thousands worldwide. Her dedication to community engagement extended to her work as Senior Youth Organizer at OCA Greater Houston, where she empowered student leaders and drives youth-centered initiatives. At the University of Chicago, she inspired first-year students to develop their civic engagement skills. In 2023, Lisa took her advocacy to the stage as she represented Texas in the Miss Chinatown USA Pageant, where she promoted mental health advocacy for the Chinese-American community and earned the title of “Miss Congeniality.” She has also been honored with the 2023 Dear Asian Changemaker Civic Catalyst Award. Driven by her passion for creating meaningful change, Lisa continues to inspire and uplift communities through her unwavering commitment to advocacy work.
John Dorris, LCMHCA
Lotus Therapy Fund Director
Charlotte, NC, USA
John (he/him) is a Filipino-American Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counseling Associate in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Appalachian State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He also has more than 6 years of experience in technology consulting working with national and international clients in multiple industries and digital spaces. John 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.
Jocelyn Lai, PhD
Co-Director of Program Evaluation
St. Louis, MO, USA
Jocelyn (she/her/Dr) 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 received her doctorate in psychology at the University of California, Irvine, and is currently a research associate at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on examining the socio-contextual factors and individual differences (e.g., culture) that contribute to how emotions are experienced and managed.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 youth and emerging adults. Through AMHC, she assists with development and evaluation of programming initiatives targeted towards normalize seeking mental health care among Asian Americans. Jocelyn finds little moments of happiness in dancing, jazz music, chai lattes, and all things corgi or black-sesame related.
Suzanna So, PhD, LP
Co-Director of Program Evaluation
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
Therapy Fund Coordinator
Madison, WI, USA
Michael (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 jRPGs. He always adores cooking and catching a Liverpool match on weekends.
James Wu
Board Member
Brooklyn, NY, USA
James Wu is the Founder and Managing Director of Studio Tomo, a branding collective that partners with organizations working to build a better world for all. As a brand strategist, he’s had the privilege of supporting National Geographic, Duolingo, General Motors, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, The New York Community Trust, and Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Previously, James was a Partner and Head of Strategy for A—B Partners, a Senior Strategist at SYP where he led Fortune 500 executives through large-scale transformation, and Head of Branding for the nonprofit impact investor, Acumen. He has also worked in development for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and served as Director of Business Development for the digital consultancy, Modea.
James serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Marketing Advisory Board at Virginia Tech, his alma mater. 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; University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business; and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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.
Kaila S. Tang, LCSW
Board Member
Atlanta, GA, USA
Kaila (she/her) identifies as second-generation Chinese American and grew up in California. She completed her masters in clinical psychology at Columbia University and masters in social work at the University of Southern California. Prior to moving to Atlanta, Kaila served individuals from all walks of life through clinical research labs and community health organizations. A few of her clinical interests include the developmental impacts of attachment and trauma; intersectionality, intersectioning identities, and mental health; and systemic barriers to healthcare access.
Outside of private practice, Kaila is a co-founder of Asian Mental Health Collective and Asian Mental Health Professionals of Georgia. She is also an advanced candidate in adult psychoanalysis at Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute.
When she isn’t working, Kaila can be found cuddling her cats, tending to her plants, or searching for the best local eats.
Linda Thai, LMSW
Board Member
Fairbanks, AK, USA
George Xiong, MA, LCPC, NCC, ADHD-CCSP
Board Member
Chicago, IL, USA
George Xiong (he/him/his) is a Hmong-American born to Hmong refugee parents. As an individual who is first generation born in the States, George has spent much of his life navigating the nuances of acclimation and acculturation to the American culture, while rediscovering and reconstructing his Hmong identity. As a Hmong-American mental health provider, he has wrestled with the importance of representation, especially in Asian American contexts, and strives to improve the mental health resources available to Hmong and other Southeast Asian communities. He holds a dual MA in Mental Health Counseling and Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. George is fully licensed in the state of Illinois as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.
Prior to his career in mental health, George served on a handful of pastoral staff, working with youth and young adults, and focused on spiritual wellness and formation. During his seminary training, he shifted focus towards addressing the mental and emotional needs of those in his community. George now works as the Assistant Director and Outreach Coordinator for the Student Counseling Services for Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. George also provides services through his newly established private practice Rooted Therapy PLLC. George specializes in providing clinical services to individuals with ADHD, and has his own personal journey of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.
George has made it his goal to destigmatize mental health in all communities. He has provided psychoeducational workshops for church conferences for youth and young adults, presented/preached in churches on mental health issues and preventative measures, and participated as a podcast host for Erasing Shame and Yexus Communitas. George has also been invited to share at events including a White House Town Hall on AAPI Mental Health in Faith Communities.
In his off time, George enjoys spending time developing relationships through hosting dinners and game nights with his wife, playing and watching sports, and fishing the great lakes of the midwest.
