Transforming Careers in Mental Health for BIPOC

Briana M. Bivens is a postdoctoral research associate at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and an incoming Clinical Assistant Professor in Teachers, Schools, and Society at the University of Florida, USA. Briana’s scholarship focuses on the theory and history of community-based education, youth political education, and sustainable movement-building.

Linda Lausell Bryant is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Clinical Professor at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, USA. She directs the Adaptive Leadership in Human Services Institute at Silver and her work is informed by three decades of senior management experience in child, youth, and family agencies.

Doris F. Chang is a practicing clinical psychologist and a full Professor at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, USA. Her research on Asian Americans and other BIPOC examines how sociocultural and structural factors impact psychological health and interracial dynamics, and seeks to develop culturally affirming interventions that integrate mindfulness and other contemplative traditions.

Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas is a full Professor at The Chicago School, College of Professional Psychology, USA, where she coordinates the graduate concentration in Latinx Mental Health. She is co-founder of the IC-RACE Lab (Immigration, Critical Race, and Cultural Equity Lab) and has authored several books and therapeutic approaches, including HEART (Healing Ethno and Racial Trauma).

Terrence Coffie is a social worker and adjunct faculty at the Silver School of Social Work, New York University, USA. As a formerly incarcerated person, he has committed himself to creating social and political change within the criminal justice system. He is founder and CEO of The Social Justice Network and host of the podcast, It’s Coffie Time.

Kevin Cokley is the University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, and Professor and Associate Chair of Diversity Initiatives in the Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He studies the psychosocial experiences of African American students and students of color, the impostor phenomenon, and its relationship to mental health and academic outcomes.

E. J. R. David is a full Professor in the Clinical-Community Psychology PhD Program at University of Alaska, Anchorage, USA. He also directs the Alaska Native Community Advancement in Psychology (ANCAP) Program, and co-chairs the Division on Filipino Americans (DoFA) of the Asian American Psychological Association.

Milo Dodson is a licensed counseling psychologist in California, USA and serves as Senior Manager for Diversity and Inclusion and Community Outreach for Belkin International, Inc. An advocate for service-based leadership, he has directed hip-hop artist Common’s Dreamers and Believers Summer Youth Camp for nearly six years, and volunteers for organizations such as Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.

Ramani Durvasula is a licensed clinical psychologist, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, USA, and founder/CEO of LUNA Education, Training, and Consulting. She is also host of the podcast Navigating Narcissism, author of numerous books on narcissism and its impact on relationships, and creator of the popular YouTube channel, “Doctor Ramani.”

Bryana French is a professor at the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas, USA. Her work focuses on racial and sexual trauma and recovery among BIPOC adults and has been recognized with awards from the American Psychological Association, the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, and the Association of Black Psychologists.

Robyn L. Gobin is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA who specializes in sexual trauma recovery among Black women and women Veterans. She is also a mindfulness and self-compassion teacher, trauma therapy trainer, organizational wellness consultant, and author of The Self-Care Prescription among other books.

Joseph P. Gone, Ph.D., is an international expert in the psychology and mental health of American Indians and other Indigenous peoples. A professor at Harvard University, he has collaborated with tribal communities for 30 years to critique conventional mental health services and to harness traditional culture and spirituality for advancing Indigenous well-being. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and received recognition in his fields through 25 fellowships and career awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Gordon Nagayama Hall is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Oregon, USA. He was President of the American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues and editor of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. He is developing Mind Boba, an NIMH-funded problem-solving therapy app for Asian Americans (https://trifoia.com/mindboba/).

Kenneth V. Hardy is the President of the Eikenberg Academy for Social Justice and Director of the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships. He is also Professor of Family Therapy at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a frequent workshop presenter, trainer, and consultant on the topics of cultural and racial diversity, trauma, and oppression.

Ran Hu is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, USA. Informed by her transnational work with (im)migrant women in the sex industry, Ran’s scholarship explores and addresses intersecting social-structural and epistemic inequities that contribute to violence against sex workers, human trafficking, and gender-based violence.

Larke Nahme Huang is a licensed clinical-community psychologist, Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and Director of the Office of Behavioral Health Equity at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, USA.

Karen Jackson-Weaver has been an academic leader in global higher education for over two decades. Prior to her current Vice Presidency at New York University, USA, she was a Dean-in-Residence and Visiting Scholar at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, and a former Academic Dean at Princeton and Harvard Universities.

Kirk “Jae” James is Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the DSW program at NYU Silver School of Social Work, USA. He is Chair of the Diversity, Race, Oppression, and Privilege (DROP) curriculum area and is on the editorial board of Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work. Jae has authored numerous academic articles and book chapters on mass incarceration, abolition praxis, and liberatory pedagogy.

Linda P. Juang is a Professor of Inclusive Education at the University of Potsdam, Germany. Her research focuses on what families and schools can do to provide nurturing environments that allow young people to be affirmed, valued, and supported for who they are.

Sophia Williams Kapten is a practicing licensed clinical psychologist at Therapists of New York, USA. She has held clinical training positions at Mount Sinai, Beth Israel, New York Presbyterian, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, The New School’s Counseling Center, and Kings County Hospital.

Maryam Kia-Keating is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, where she directs the Trauma & Adversity, Resilience & Prevention (TARP) research lab. She is also a children’s media consultant, co-creator of the HEROES family resilience program, and the founder of Reach and Shine.

Grace S. Kim is a Clinical Professor and Chair of the Counseling Psychology and Applied Human Development department at Boston University, USA. Her research focuses on social justice education and Asian American Psychology. She explores effectively teaching diversity and social justice, and wellness for Asian Americans, centering their struggles for liberation, social agency, and solidarity with other marginalized groups.

Eunjung Lee is a Professor and Endowed Chair in Mental Health & Health at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, Canada. Using critical theories in language, discourse and power, her research focuses on everyday interactions and power dynamics in cross-cultural psychotherapy.

Jioni A. Lewis is an Associate Professor and Co-Training Director of the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA. She is a leading expert on gendered racism, radical healing, and Black women’s health. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and is an award-winning researcher, teacher, and social justice advocate.

Sandra Mattar is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, USA. She is the Director of Training at the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center at Boston Medical Center. Her clinical and research interests focus on psychological trauma, immigrant and refugee mental health, multicultural and international psychology, and mindfulness and spirituality.

Amanda Mays is a practicing clinical social worker and a Founding Partner at MCM Collaborative, a group psychotherapy practice in New York City that centers on BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. She has taught at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work. Her work integrates anti-oppressive principles to elevate affirmative identity and community formation.

Iris Yi Miao is a postdoctoral fellow in clinical neuropsychology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She has held numerous leadership positions, including at the Asian Neuropsychological Association. Her clinical and research interests span multicultural neuropsychological assessment, various neuropsychological syndromes, and cognitive rehabilitation.

Helen Neville is a counseling psychology researcher and Professor of Educational Psychology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. She has held numerous national leadership positions and her research on race, racism, and healing among Black Americans and other People of Color has been published widely.

Jeannette Pai-Espinosa, President of Justice and Joy National Collaborative, has led the 140-year-old organization through its reinvention process since 2007. Today, it is an intergenerational gender and racial justice advocacy and organizing non-profit. Prior experience includes partnership in a social change agency and leadership roles in human/civil rights and higher education.

Brean’a Parker is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling and Counselor Education program at North Carolina State University. Brean’a’s research interests include examining narratives of interpersonal violence within Black and marginalized communities, cultural healing praxis toward wellness for survivors of violence and trauma and social justice embodiment for counseling students within counselor education programs.

Jeffrey Proulx is Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Research) and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research) at Brown University. Bridging Native American and African-American traditional contemplative and healing practices and mainstream mindfulness practices, his research examines how mindfulness affects resilience and well-being across a person’s developmental trajectory.

Anneliese Singh (she/they) serves as Chief Diversity Officer/Associate Provost for Diversity and Faculty Development and is a Professor in the schools of social work and psychology at Tulane University. Anneliese’s research and community organizing explores racial healing, justice and liberation, South Asian counseling, trans and nonbinary communities, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) and antiracism initiatives in various settings.

Lisa B. Spanierman is Professor of counseling and counseling psychology and Associate Dean of Academic Personnel at Arizona State University, USA. Her research focuses on white racial attitudes and racial microaggressions. She has published more than 80 articles and book chapters and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Derek H. Suite is a board-certified psychiatrist, founder of Full Circle Health, and Associate Adjunct Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. He is the consulting team psychiatrist to the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and New York Jets and consults for Major League Soccer on restorative practices and cultural sensitivity.

Karen L. Suyemoto is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her teaching, research, and consultations focus on processes of racism and resistance against oppression for People of Color and white people, and organizational change to promote anti-racism and social justice in the academy and psychological practice.

Tolulola Taiwo-Hanna is a research coordinator, course instructor, and a PhD student at the University of Toronto, Canada. Some of Tolu’s research interests include social work practice with diverse populations, trauma and mental health, racism and racial microaggressions in human service organizations, organizational development, and social work leadership.

Nari Yoo is a PhD candidate at New York University, Silver School of Social Work, USA. She is a predoctoral fellow at predoctoral fellow at the Constance and Martin Silver Center on Data Science and Social Equity. Her research focuses on the mental health, behavioral health, and well-being of racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants in both the United States and Asian contexts.

Xiang Zhou is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Purdue University, USA. His research interests include health disparity, parenting and family systems approach, as well as culturally adapted counseling interventions, particularly among Asian and Asian American diaspora communities.