Featured Speakers

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Clinical Scholars: Breaking Silence Team

(from left) Dr. Juliana Chen, Dr. Weiyang Xie, Dr. Justin Chen, & Lily Chen

Juliana H. Chen, MD, is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH), and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. She serves as Associate Director of the MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness and has special interest in supporting Asian American students and families.

Weiyang Xie, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago. She worked as the Clinical Psychologist & served the Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Health & Wellness Unit at the University of Notre Dame, IN. She also serves as a consulting psychologist for UCA WAVES Program for Asian American youth mental health.

Justin A. Chen, MD, MPH, is Medical Director of Ambulatory Psychiatry Services and Co-Director of Primary Care Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He is also the Director of the MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness and the Co-Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in the treatment of adult mood and anxiety disorders and is dedicated to teaching and mentorship.

Jian (Lily) Chen, MA, RN, CNE, is a lecturer at North Carolina Central University Department of Nursing. She is a certified Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor. Lily is a community organizer and has published multiple OpEds that have been featured in major US news outlets. Lily is UCA WAVES Project director, Senior advisor and previous Executive Director of UCA, and the founding President for UCA Illinois Chapter.

The Clinical Scholars Breaking Silences Team will be hosting our session Breaking Silences: Youth Mental Health & Parent-Child Communication. This parent education session will focus on improving parent-child communication, as well as supporting youth and their mental health.

Click here for more info about the Clinical Scholars and their project!

Daphne Kwok: WAVES Guest Speaker

Daphne Kwok is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Asian American & Pacific Audience Strategy at American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). 

A 1984 graduate of Wesleyan University, Ms. Kwok is the first Asian American to serve on its Board of Trustees.

Previously, Ms. Kwok was the Executive Director of Asians & Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California. She was also the Executive Director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation in San Francisco. For 11 years, she was the Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national membership based civil rights organization. She was the first elected Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a network of national APA organizations. She also served as Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. 

Ms. Kwok was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 to chair his Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Commission served as the “eyes and ears” of the community advising the President and the federal government about the issues impacting the AAPI community.  
 
Ms. Kwok will be one of the panelist in our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Mental Health & Advocacy session. This session will exploring current mental health disparities in AAPI communities, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.