We came together in 2020 as a group of Asian Americans in public health and medicine, searching for a community that deeply believes in racial justice. We started out writing because we wanted to share Asian American perspectives not commonly seen in healthcare. Over time, we grew from a writing group to a collective for mutual support and education. We have been gratified by the response from the Asian American community in medicine and yet we know we cannot be effective within one professional silo. We would love to expand to others working in healthcare. Please contact us if you’d like to join us in this work.
Core Team: Kevin Dinh, Monica Hahn, Sarah Iv, Michelle Ko, Russyan Mark Mabeza, Victoria Ngo, and Angela Zhang
Leadership
Dr. Monica U. Hahn, MD, MPH, MS, AAHIVS is a Clinical Professor at UCSF in the Department of Family & Community Medicine and OBGYN. She serves as a Deans Diversity Leader for the UCSF Differences Matter Initiative, is a Curricular Component Liaison for the UCSF Anti-Oppression Curriculum Initiative and is a co-founder of the Institute for Healing and Justice in Medicine. She is a racial caucusing affinity group facilitator for medical students, residents, faculty and staff for the UCSF Department of Family & Community Medicine and for the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program. Integrating her background in Ethnic Studies and with her experience in community activism, community-based participatory research, and HIV clinical care & program management, she strives to advance anti-oppression and anti-racism efforts in healthcare, with a focus on medical education, HIV capacity building and clinical care.
Michelle Ko, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor in Health Policy and Management at UC Davis. Her research includes examinations of structural racism and other systemic inequalities on multiple outcomes, from community health and aging, to the healthcare safety net, to diversity, equity and inclusion in the healthcare workforce. She teaches graduate courses in health equity research methods and public health inequities in California. She has served on multiple national committees related to health equity issues and is currently serving as the Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate, and a member of the University of California systemwide Academic Senate Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity.
Victoria Ngo, PhD, is a health informaticist with background in program development and healthcare administration. She is a health systems researcher and an advocate dedicated to advancing health equity and social justice, promoting Cultural Humility, and improving healthcare outcomes through her work in community health, technology design, and team science. She is committed to addressing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, particularly among underserved populations. Her postdoctoral work included institutional capacity building toward dialogue around race and health in the United States. Her research explores how social drivers of health and cultural barriers influence patient care, with a focus on developing culturally responsive interventions and leveraging digital health tools to enhance engagement. A curriculum design expert, she has developed training programs that equip healthcare leaders with the skills to navigate cross-cultural interactions with empathy and awareness.