Kiran Ahuja, the executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, was delivering the keynote speech at the Asian American Psychological Association on Wednesday when she opened up about her brother’s suicide and the impact it had on her family.
From NBC News: White House Official Opens Up About Family Struggles with Mental Illness
Kiran Ahuja was appointed on December 14, 2009 to the position of Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), housed in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. In this capacity, she is responsible for directing the efforts of the White House Initiative and the Presidential Advisory Commission on AAPIs to advise federal agency leadership on the implementation and coordination of federal programs as they relate to AAPIs across executive departments and agencies. The White House Initiative on AAPIs works with these entities to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through increased access to, and participation in, federal programs in which they may be underserved.
For almost twenty years, Ms. Ahuja has dedicated herself to improving the lives of women of color in the U.S. Well-known as a leader among national and grassroots AAPI and women’s rights organizations, Ms. Ahuja served as the founding Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) from 2003-2008. Through her leadership, Ms. Ahuja built NAPAWF from an all-volunteer organization to one with a paid professional staff who continue to spearhead successful policy and education initiatives, expanded NAPAWF’s volunteer chapters and membership, and organized a strong and vibrant network of AAPI women community leaders across the country.
Ms. Ahuja grew up in Savannah, Georgia, where her understanding of race, gender and ethnicity was formed as a young Indian immigrant. She attended Spelman College, an historically black college, and the University of Georgia School of Law. Following law school, she was chosen as one of five Honors Program trial attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, where she litigated education-related discrimination cases and filed the Department’s first peer-on-peer student racial harassment lawsuit. In addition, she participated in the Division’s National Origin Working Group as part of a core group of attorneys who organized response efforts for the Division after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions play a critical role in our system of higher education, in our communities, and in securing our nation’s economic growth. Learn more about these schools here and here.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/07/23/aanapisis-serving-critical-aapi-student-population
http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/aapi/asian-american-and-native-american-pacific-islander-serving-institution-aanapisi/
Congratulations to past AAPA Board of Director Dr. Stephanie Pituc who is the recipient of the 2014 APA Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs'(CEMA) Jeffrey S. Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award in Psychology competition. The CEMA Selection Sub-committee determined her dissertation research titled, “Foreigner Objectification, Bicultural Identity, and Psychological Adjustment in Asian American College Students,” to be the most outstanding.
AAPA Statement on Mental Health Act
The Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) is pleased to announce its support and appreciation for the nation’s commitment to improve mental health services through the new legislation, “Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act”, introduced May 6, 2014 by Doris Matsui (CA-06), Ron Barber (AZ-2), Diana DeGette (CO-1), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), and Paul Tonko (NY-20). The bill identifies the need for comprehensive mental health care, specifically highlighting the need for critical mental health programs, prevention, training, research, and competent community-based services for at- risk and vulnerable populations. This bill would greatly benefit many Asian American communities who lack adequate mental health treatment due to the lack of bilingual providers and barriers to access appropriate services.
The AAPA urges Asian American consumers and providers treating various Asian American communities to participate on the Mental Health Advisory Board. Additionally, the AAPA supports increased training for culturally competent behavioral health professionals serving Asian American communities, as well as resources for the growing aging Asian American population.
AAPA Policy Committee
