Empower & Strengthening AAPI’s Youth Facing Mental Health Challenges to Fulfill the Collective American Dream
Empower & Strengthening AAPI’s Youth Facing Mental Health Challenges to Fulfill the Collective American Dream
Date: June 11th, 2021
Guest:
Dr. Mai Uchida
Her research career has focused on the characteristics, longitudinal course and treatment of unipolar depression and bipolar pediatric mood disorders. In collaboration with Dr. John Gabrieli at MIT and Dr. Joseph Biederman at MGH, she has published on the functional and structural MRI based biomarkers of the risk for development of major depression, and received the First Prize Department of Psychiatry Award of MGH as well as the Dupont Warren Fellowship, Livingston Award, Pilot and Feasibility Award form MassGeneral for Children, and Milton Award from Harvard Medical School for her works on this topic.
Another area of Dr. Uchida’s expertise is in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She is a K23 Awardee from the NIMH with a project searching for clinical and neural biomarkers for the risk of ADHD in preschoolers. She is also the recipient of the Elaine Schlosser Lewis Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to investigate the utilization of health technology in improving management of ADHD, and The Best Paper Award from the Journal of Attention Disorder for her work in presenting the longitudinal investigations of ADHD across the life span. She has also been named Louis V Gertsner Scholor for her work in neural networks that affect emotional regulation in adults with ADHD.
In addition, Dr. Uchida is a committed advocate for mental health. She has articulated her thoughts in a number of international publications, including the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, ABC.com and Asahi Shimbun, on topics ranging from suicide prevention and informed consent in pediatrics to her experience of being a Japanese female physician in America. She has garnered praise for her work in sharing her experience as a parent in discussing about difficult issues such as racism, gender inequality and emotional regulation, as well as her interviews of real people with real emotional struggles.
Chris Norwood
Chris Norwood was born in Spokane Washington and moved to the Sobrante Park community of east Oakland, California at a very young age. From there he moved to the Sunnyhills Community of Milpitas, California, one of the first intentionally planned culturally diverse communities in the United States. Norwood graduated from Milpitas High School where he developed interests in technology, English, math and sports. He also attended West Valley College to study computing and business.
He grew up attending church, but only intermittingly. He came to faith as a young adult, but says it wasn’t until he was an adult that he began “walking and living by faith.” A turning point came in 1997. “I was flying back from a business trip to Australia. It was in the middle of the dot.com boom and I was a minority partner and director of technical services for an international software company. As I took inventory on my life, I realized I didn’t have an eternal life plan to complement my 401k plan and life insurance plans. My best friend invited me to Jubilee Christian Center where I felt the power of the Holy Spirit for the second time in my life. I’ve been at Jubilee Christian Center ever since.” While at Jubilee, Norwood was also healed of his lifelong asthma.
“As my faith grew, so did my desire to know Him,” says Norwood. In 2002, he went back to school at William Jessup University (formerly San Jose Christian College). He graduated with distinction in 2006 with a degree in Christian Leadership and Biblical Theology.
Elaine Peng
Elaine Peng worked as a Chinese teacher for more than 10 years, but since 2013, she has been a dedicated mental health advocate and educator providing education to reduce public prejudice against mental illness, as well as decreasing stigma among caregivers. She has started five Chinese support groups and developed the first NAMI Chinese website www.namichinese.org in the United States. Elaine is a leader and developer of multiple mental health programs for the Chinese community. As a consumer and family member, she helps to promote mental health services and provide peer support to the underserved Chinese community.Her only purpose was to help those who desperately need help; hoping that through programs what the MHACC provide, they do not have to experience the despair she went through. She was the recipient of the 2016 NAMI National’s Multicultural Outreach Award, and the 2017 NAMI California’s Multicultural Outreach Award.
NAMI Family To Family Class Teacher/State Teacher Trainer
NAMI Family Support Group Facilitator/State Trainer
NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group Facilitator
NAMI Peer to Peer Mentor
NAMI Basics Class Teacher
NAMI IOOV Presenter
NAMI California Mental Health 101 Program Presenter
Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®) Facilitator
Member of the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee (CLCC) of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)
Alameda County Mental Health Services Act(MHSA) Stakeholder Group member
10×10 Wellness for Alameda County Advisory Board Member
Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services(PEERS) Chinese American Action Team Member
San Mateo County Chinese Health Initiative(CHI) Member
Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health Patient Advisory Council Member
Sue Qiao
Sue is the Co-founder of Awakening Land and truYOUth, platforms that enhance the mental well-being of global Chinese communities. She loves the mission to make world-class mental health resources accessible to Chinese of all backgrounds and strives to eliminate the stigma around mental illness. Before joining, she worked in developmental research labs, Mental Health Clinics, and was a listener at the crisis centre.