Building Bridges: Empowering Asian American Families in OC – Center for Asian Americans in Action

This event has passed. Please check the session descriptions below for recordings of our virtual session.

Educate to Empower and the Center for Asian Americans in Action (Center for A3) are teaming up again to present a discussion series for Asian American students, parents and educators to talk about the impacts of the “model minority myth” in the classroom, at home, and beyond.

The series, entitled Building Bridges: Empowering Asian American Families in OC, will create opportunities for Asian American families to share stories about the mental health impacts of discrimination and stereotyping and discuss ways schools and school districts can better support Asian American students and their families.

We will host three virtual sessions (7-8pm on Oct. 3, 10, and 17), beginning with a screening of Pressure to Perform, a short video created by students at Irvine’s Portola High School followed by a panel discussion by some of the student creators of the video. The second session will feature a parent-led panel discussion about the harmful mental health impacts of the model minority myth. Attendees in the third session will hear from educators, administrators and school board members about the importance of Asian American engagement in school and school district meetings. Attendees will also learn about AB 101, California’s ethnic studies requirement for graduating high schoolers, and why it’s important to engage with OC schools and school districts as they consider how to implement the new requirement in the coming school year.

The series will culminate in a half-day, in-person summit on October 22, 2023 from 9AM-12:30PM for families and educators to speak, learn, and discuss ways to work together to dismantle the model minority myth at home and in the classroom.

Building Bridges: Empowering Asian American Families in OC is an opportunity for Asian American students and parents to engage in workshops with each other and to connect with local Asian American community leaders and build a network that supports advocacy and change. Participants will gain new information, support, and tools that will empower them to make an impact in their school communities. Together, we will continue to foster stronger school environments in which our Asian American students can thrive.

Session 1: Bridging Generations: Student Perspectives

The model minority myth is a powerful idea that has real-world effects, especially for students of the so-called “model” racial minority. In order to strengthen intergenerational communication and understanding, parents and students are welcome to learn together about the origins of the model minority myth, hear a firsthand case study about how it played out in the internal worlds and interpersonal environments of Asian American students, and engage in discussion.

Madyson Chung Lee is a first year at Scripps College in Claremont, CA. She plans on double majoring in anthropology and Asian studies. Madyson is currently a part of the Claremont Treble Choir and the Claremont College Consortium’s League of Women Voters. In her spare time, she loves to go to concerts, hang out with friends, and find yummy restaurants to eat at.

Arjit Singh is a Senior in high school with a strong math and science background. Arjit driven by his passion for leadership and service and hold leadership positions in the student body and extracurricular clubs. He has been deeply involved in Hope Squad and other school spirit activities since Freshman year.

Ellie Lian is a first year at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She is incredibly passionate about legislation and policy, especially in terms of educational equity and student engagement which she channels into a number of statewide to grassroots advocacy initiatives. She is currently interested in studying Asian studies and public policy analysis with a concentration in economics, but she is eager to continue exploring. Outside of her work in student organizing, you can find her thrifting, painting, reading, or watching movies!

Ryan Itchon is currently a School Counselor at Portola High School, and has served as a school counselor for 8 years. He has also served as a private college counselor and Admissions Reader for UC Irvine.

Session 2: Bridging Generations: Parent Perspectives

Building on a foundational understanding of the model minority myth and students’ experiences with it, this session will center parents’ experiences in education – both as students “back in the day” and as the caretakers of the next generation. Participants will engage in discussion about their school experiences in the hope of finding common ground and connecting through intergenerational difference. This session will feature a panel discussion from parents who will share their experiences as Asian American kids then and what’s changed for their kids now.

Amy Capelle earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and holds a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Public Leadership Credential from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. As the Board President of Journey School, she has led the school successfully through the pandemic. In 2015, Amy’s first children’s book, “From Manila with Love,” was published by Tahanan Books and is now in its second printing.

Dr. Priya J. Shah received her Ph.D. from UC Irvine in 2008. Since then, she has been teaching Gender and Sexuality Studies, Queer Studies, and Ethnic Studies at various community colleges, Cal States, and UCs. She has served on the board of Equality CA, Orange County Equality Coalition (OCEC), and Wayward Artists, and has worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign. She is an advocate for LGBTQ+ youth and racial in justice in K-12 schools.

Becky Nguyen, MPA, MPH has a passion for working with the communities and has dedicated herself to serving the needy populations in Orange County for several decades. She is currently the Executive Director at the VACF. Under her leadership, VACF has been developing numerous collaborations with multi-ethnic community agencies, increasing community visibility in academia through community-based participatory research, advancing community health efforts to be more inclusive, and addressing health disparities by involving multi-disciplinary entities and sectors.

Andrew Ji, Esq., is the current Managing Director of the Orange County branch office of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Southern California. He is also the interim Managing Director of AJ SoCal’s Immigration Project. Including his time at Advancing Justice, Andrew practiced immigration law in Orange County and Los Angeles for over 15 years, representing thousands of clients on complex removal, family-based, and employment-based immigration cases. Andrew has called Orange County home for 4 decades and is a proud graduate of UC Irvine.

Session 3: Bridging Schools and Communities

As we’ve seen from both student and parent testimonials, many institutions like our schools were not built with Asian American communities in mind. Educators, administrators and school board members will discuss the importance of and pathways for Asian American engagement in school and school district meetings, which is a necessary part of improving the education and experiences of our community. Attendees will also learn about AB 101, California’s ethnic studies requirement for graduating high schoolers, and why it’s important to engage with OC schools and school districts as they consider how to implement the new requirement in the coming school year.

Session 4: Connecting Our Communities

The series will culminate in a half-day, in-person summit for students, parents, and educators to speak, learn, and discuss ways to work together to dismantle the model minority myth in their relationships, classrooms, schools, and districts. This session will feature opening remarks from Dr. Caroline Lee, a licensed clinical child, adolescent, and adult psychologist who specializes in Asian American cultural issues. She will discuss ways to help our youth and families thrive and build resilience. Together with multi-lingual licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Tsai-Ling Fraher, there will be small group discussions and exercises to help foster intergenerational dialogue and build a community of care to support Asian American families.

Caroline C. Lee, PhD is a licensed clinical child, adolescent, and adult psychologist currently in private practice in Newport Beach, CA. Prior to private practice, Caroline worked at Kaiser Permanente’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department where she led the Intensive Outpatient Program and the Parents of Preschoolers program. She also served as the Co-director of the Post-doctoral Clinical Training program. Caroline graduated with her PhD in Educational Psychology from Stanford University where she taught a psychoeducational course called Culture and Coping: Asian American Approaches. She was also part of the Asian American Mental Health at Stanford Initiative that led to the creation of the current mental health programming. She received her MA in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and taught kindergarten and 1st grade for several years. Her undergraduate degree was completed at the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Psychology and minored in Education and Asian American Studies. Caroline is an Asian American mental health advocate and gives psychoeducational presentations to organizations and works to destigmatize mental health in the community.

Tsai-ling Fraher, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Supervisor, works primarily with Asian American professionals and immigrants in her Newport/Irvine based private practice. Tsai-ling received her Bachelor’s degree from UCLA and her Master’s degree from Cal state Fullerton. Prior to becoming a therapist, Tsai-ling spent several years in corporate America followed by more than 20 years in the FBI utilizing her Mandarin language expertise. In therapy, she leans on her diversified professional and life experiences with multicultural issues as well as her empathic problem-solving abilities to help her clients.

Michael Matsuda is a nationally recognized 21st century educational leader known for innovation, entrepreneurship, and compassion. Under his leadership, the Anaheim Union High School District has built a new educational model incorporating “reverse engineered” career pathways in partnership with higher education, private, and non-profit sectors, which have extended and transformed educational opportunities for all students.