Team Alum

Doctoral Alum

Thanh Nguyen (PhD, 2023)

📍 Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Washington Department of Pediatrics, Institute on Human Development and Disabilities & Seattle Children’s Autism Center.

Dissertation title: Exploring the Asian American Autism Family Relationship Processes among Non-Autistic Siblings from Immigrant and Confucian-ethnic Family Background

Thesis title: Relations between Family Demographic Characteristics and Early Intervention Service Receipt After Children’s Initial ASD Diagnosis

Thanh Nguyen is interested in utilizing translational research and implementation science to address autism-related health service inequities faced by youth of color from marginalized backgrounds. Her research involves designing, piloting, and evaluating novel systems-level interventions that can better facilitate equitable access to autism evaluation and service receipt (e.g., the Collaborative Autism School Assessment and Developmental Efforts; CASCADES). Thanh also focuses on amplifying the voices and needs of Autistic youth and families from historically and intentionally disinvested communities, such as the Southeast Asian American immigrant and refugee community. Additionally, she explores the intersection of race, culture, and disability on the Asian American Autism family relationship and wellbeing. Thanh currently serves on the executive committee of the Asian American Psychological Association’s Division on Southeast Asian Americans, which she co-founded in 2021. In the past, Thanh has served on the board of directors of the Asian American Psychological Association (at-large), as well as the executive committee of the Asian American Psychological Association’s Division on Students.

Alissa Hochman (PhD, 2019)

📍Current position: Associate Professor, Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology Program, Holy Family University

Dissertation Title: Dismantling an Intervention Aimed at Increasing White People’s Knowledge and Understanding of Racial Justice Issues (Published in American Journal of Orthopsychiatry)

Thesis Title: Being and Becoming an Ally: The Lived Experience of Social Justice (Published in Research and Human Development)

Alissa Hochman’s research and teaching interests center on issues of racial justice and social justice. Dr. Hochman utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the development of ally/accomplice behavior and to design interventions to foster racial justice values in White people. She currently applies this work to educating doctoral counseling psychology students to be culturally responsive practitioners and change agents. She has also taught at the undergraduate level and most recently taught medical students about the impact of bias on healthcare to address health disparities experienced by marginalized populations. Dr. Hochman has provided training for clinicians and teachers on integrating ally consciousness and development into education, training, and therapy. Outside of her academic role, Dr. Hochman has engaged with organizations aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States, supporting progressive causes and political candidates, and DEI efforts in her community.

Charles (Chuck) Liu (PhD, 2018)

📍Current position: Assistant Professor, School of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy at Wheaton College, Illinois.

Dissertation title: The Impact of Personal and Familial Confucian Values on Mental Illness Stigma and Help Seeking Attitudes Among Asian Americans From Confucian Cultures

Thesis title: The Effects of Racism Related Stress on Asian Americans; Anxiety and Depression Among Different Generational Statuses (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology)

Chuck Liu’s research interests include the intersection of culture and mental health among Asian Americans, as well as the impact of racism on mental health. Chuck was an APA Minority Fellow and completed his pre-doctoral internship at I Ola Lahui Rural Hawai’i Behavioral Health. He continued with a post-doc at I Ola Lahui and the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. His previous research includes investigated the impact of COVID-19-related racism on Asian American mental health during the pandemic. He is currently interested in the practice of decolonizing psychology through research and teaching, most recently partnering with local colleagues to investigate cultural beliefs about mental illness in Thailand. He continues to see clients through his private practice.

Danielle Godon-Decoteau (PhD, 2018)

📍Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Oberlin College

Dissertation Title: Examining the Moderating Role of Internalized Racism on the Relation Between Racism-Related Stress and Mental Health Symptoms in Asian Americans (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology)

Thesis Title: Sense of Belonging and Sense of Exclusion in Korean Transracial Adoptees (Completed at Mount Holyoke, Revised for Publication in Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research)

Danielle Godon-Decoteau’s research focuses on race, culture, and Asian American mental health. Danielle is currently exploring Asian Americans’ perceptions of racism and racial consciousness with quantitative and qualitative methodologies. In the past she has studied the intersections of race, ethnic culture, and identity in transracially and internationally adopted Asian Americans. Danielle is an Assistant Professor at Oberlin College, where she teaches courses related to Asian American Psychology. She serves as Co-Chair for the Asian American Psychological Association’s Division of Multiracial and Adopted Asian Americans (DMAA)

Fanny Ng (PhD, 2017)

📍Current position: Licensed practicing psychologist in New York

Dissertation title: Asian American Women Leaders’ Strategies for Negotiating Intersectional Discrimination Related to Racism and Sexism

Thesis title: The Relation of Racism-Related Stress to Racial Identity, Ethnic Identity and Racism- Related Empowerment in Asian Americans

After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the Veteran Affairs Northern California Healthcare System, Fanny Ng worked as a Clinical Psychologist at the Cancer Center at Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY . She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Her clinical and research interests include the impact of race and racism on mental health and the integration of psychology into primary care settings as a way of increasing access, understanding, and utilization of mental health services by communities where mental health stigma and resource issues may be significant barriers to getting services. Fanny has a keen interest in organizational leadership within psychology, seeking to connect clinical and research experiences with governance, public policy, and social justice advocacy currently and in the future. She was a recipient of a Minority Fellowship from the American Psychological Association and has served on the Asian American Psychological Association’s (AAPA) Board of Directors as the elected Student Representative, as the President and Treasurer of the AAPA Division of Students, and as the student representative for the American Psychological Association’s division 35 section 5, the Psychology of Asian Pacific American women.

Shruti Mukkamala (PhD, 2015)

📍Current position: Senior Staff Psychologist, University of California, Irvine Counseling Center

Dissertation title: The Intersectionality of Racism and Sexism for Asian American Women (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology).

Shruti Mukkamala is a former international student who has been living in the U.S. for more than a decade. Her experiences of being a first-generation immigrant and a woman of color in the U.S. have deeply impacted her personal identity and professional interests. Her current role involves working clinically with students at the UCI campus. She is also involved in training and supervision, outreach and consultation with the greater campus community at UCI. Her research interests are broadly focused on intersectional discrimination and its impact on mental health and lived experience.

John Tawa (PhD, 2013)

📍Current position: Associate Professor in the Psychology and Education Department at Mount Holyoke College.

Dissertation Title: The Influences of Social Identities and Resource Competition in Blacks’ and Asians’ Social Distance: A Virtual World Method (Published in Group Processes and Intergroup Relations)

Master’s Thesis Title: Implications of Perceived Interpersonal and Structural Racism for Asian Americans’ Self-Esteem (Published in Basic and Applied Social Psychology)

Honors Thesis Title: The Self in Bicultural Contexts: The Process of Self-Construal Among Asian Americans (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology)

Dr. Tawa’s research focuses on race-relations between Black/African Americans and Asian/Asian Americans. In addition, he is interested in the use of virtual technology for the behavioral measurement of intergroup relations. For his dissertation, Dr. Tawa used the virtual world, Second Life, to examine how resource competition affected the social distances between Black and Asian participants’ self-resembling avatars. Dr. Tawa is a past fellow of the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program and recipient of the Asian American Psychological Association Division of Students 2008 Student Researcher Award. He is the proud father of two daughters, Amaya and Kalia.

Vali D. Kahn (PhD, 2012)

Dissertation Title: The Social Negotiation of Ambiguous In-Between Stigmatized Identities: Investigating Identity Processes in Multiracial and Bisexual People

Vali D. Kahn (1975-2019) completed her internship at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Division of Public Psychiatry of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department and her post-doctoral fellowship at the Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. Following her post-doc, she worked as Associate in Psychology at the Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, as an adjunct professor at Lesley University, and in private practice in Cambridge, MA. She was an insightful and deeply empathic therapist whom professional colleagues, clients, friends, and family knew as a courageous, honest, strong, sensitive, and compassionate person. She is deeply missed by all who knew her.

Stephanie C. Day (PhD, 2010)

📍Current positions: Licensed Psychologist, Investigator, and Health Services Researcher– Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety (IQUeSt), Michael E. DeBakey V A Medical Center in Houston, and the South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC); Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM).

Dissertation Title: Adopted Korean Women: The Influences of Becoming a First-Time Biological Mother on the Negotiation of Racial Identities, Ethnic Identities, and Cultural Orientations (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology)

Thesis Title: Asian American Youth: Development, Empowerment, and Racial and Ethnic Identities (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology)

Dr. Day has expertise in the implementation and evaluation of virtual treatments for mental health care. She co-leads an interdisciplinary team, Personalized Implementation of Virtual Treatments (PIVOT), whose research and quality improvement efforts leverage digital innovations (i.e., video telehealth, mobile apps, web-based programs) to deliver or extend care for rural and underserved Veterans. She is also involved in training and mentoring mental health professionals, researchers, and trainees at BCM and MEDV AMC.

Nancy J. Lin (PhD, 2010)

📍Current positions: Embedded Psychologist, KBR Careers – Gov Solutions. Licensed clinical psychologist and owner of Go to Sleep San Diego.

Dissertation Title: Journeys to Self and Identities: Cambodian and Southern Sudanese Refugee Experiences

Thesis Title: Legacies of Trauma: The Cambodian American Experience (Published in Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma)

Dr. Lin is a past fellow of the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program. She completed her internship and postdoctoral training at the V A San Diego Healthcare System (V ASDHS) and served as staff psychologist and researcher of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, and the use of videoconferencing for therapy (telehealth). From 2010-2011, she was Director of the V ASDHS’ PTSD Clinic for Veterans of the Global War on Terror and Assistant Professor at UCSD School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. In 2011, she was invited to work at the Department of Defense, serving as staff psychologist at Overcoming Adversity and Stress Injury Support (OASIS) Program, the Navy’s flagship residential PTSD treatment program. In 2014, the Naval Medical Center San Diego designated her an Associate Master Clinician. Dr. Lin has also worked with the Veterans Medical Research Foundation investigating the effectiveness of office- versus home-based therapy to Veterans with PTSD. She has taught at San Diego State University’s Counseling and Educational Psychology Department’s Community-based Block (CBB) Master’s Program focusing on trauma and cultural diversity, and at the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work on military culture and trauma. She currently works full time as an embedded civilian psychologist serving the Naval Special Warfare community out of Coronado, CA.

Phuong T. Nguyen (PhD, 2009)

📍Current positions: Associate Professor, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine; Director of Psychology Services, Ben Taub Hospital

Dissertation Title: Examining the Process by Which Social Interactions with Various Racial and Ethnic Peer Groups Influence the Development of Racial and Ethnic Identity in Second-Generation Vietnamese American Adolescent Males.

Thesis Title: The Development of a New Musical-Mood Induction Technique and Its Use to Study Mood-Congruent Memory (Completed at Stephen F. Austin University)

Phuong T. Nguyen completed his predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He is part of the Baylor College of Medicine Anti-Human Trafficking Program and currently also serves as the Training Director for the BCM Psychology Internship Program and the BTH/BCM Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, which includes the country’s first formal psychology postdoctoral fellowship track specializing in anti-human trafficking work. At BCM, Phuong enjoys a mixture of leadership, training, clinical, and research activities. Given his refugee background, his clinical and research interests stem from his desire to better understand and address psychological difficulties experienced by historically under-served and marginalized groups, especially racial and ethnic minorities, refugees, internally displaced and homeless individuals, and human trafficking survivors.

Julie AhnAllen (PhD, 2006)

📍Current positions:Current Position: Private Practice in Brookline, MA providing individual psychotherapy, supervision, and DEI consultation.

Dissertation Title: Development of Racial and/or Ethnic Identities of Asian American Women and White European American Men Experiencing Interracial Dating (Published in Asian American Journal of Psychology)

Thesis Title: Relationship Between Physical Appearance, Sense of Belonging, Feelings of Exclusion, and Racial/Ethnic Self Identity Among Multiracial Japanese-European Americans (Published in Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology)

Julie AhnAllen is a licensed clinical psychologist, supervisor, and consultant. She specializes in working with college students, Asian Americans, BIPOC communities, and providing supervision and consultation to mental health professionals and organizations. She has 15+ years of experience working at various settings including college counseling centers, community mental health, and hospitals as a clinician, individual supervisor, director of training, and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Division of Adolescent Medicine and APA internship at Department of Psychiatry, both at Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School. She is a member of the Asian American Psychological Association.

Grace S. Kim (PhD, 2006)

📍Current positions: Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development, Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Dissertation Title: The Co-Construction of Racial and Ethnic Identities and Self-Esteem in Asian American Youth: Effects of Belonging and Exclusion

Thesis Title: Belonging, Exclusion, and Construction of Racial and Ethnic Identities Among Adult Korean Transracial Adoptees (Published in Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology)

Dr. Kim has two research foci: Social justice education and Asian American psychology. She explores how to teach diversity and social justice effectively and how to train future professionals to be more culturally humble and responsive. She also focuses on resilience and mental health of Asian Americans, centering their struggles for liberation, social agency, and solidarity with other marginalized groups. In addition to multiple articles, Dr. Kim is the co- author of two books, Unraveling Assumptions: A Primer for Understanding Oppression and Privilege, and Teaching Diversity Relationally: Engaging Emotions and Embracing Possibilities. She holds a Fellow status in the American Psychological Association (Divisions 35 & 45) and the Asian American Psychological Association. She is the recipient of the 2023 Boston University Provost’s Scholar-Teacher of the Year award. She serves as the 2024-2025 president of APA Division 35, Society for the Psychology of Women.” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Belonging, Exclusion and Construction of Racial and Ethnic Identities Among Adult Korean Transracial Adoptees (Published in Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology)

Master’s Alumni

Zainab Salejwala (M.S., Critical Ethnic and Community Studies)

📍 Current Position: Senior Special Programs Coordinator at Bunker Hill Community College

Master’s project title: Amplifying and Addressing LGBTQIA Student of Color Needs and Voices

Zainab is an alumnus of the Critical Ethnic and Community Studies Program (formerly Transnational, Cultural and Community Studies). Previously as a Graduate Assistant, they helped with programming and evaluation for the Honors R25 Caregiver, Child, and Community Health summers program in which undergraduate students gain exposure to interdisciplinary research. Zainab used their capstone to inform their teaching in a Critical Reading and Writing course through Bunker Hill’s Academic Support Program that focused on social identity and intersectionality. Zainab also served as a Writing Specialist through Foundation Year, which is a gateway college program for Boston Public School graduates who are first generation, students of color, and come from low-income backgrounds. Zainab is passionate about helping marginalized students succeed within higher education, whether through teaching, mentoring and/or research.