WASHINGTON DC WORKSHOP

Advancing Connections and Community-Based Practices for Trauma-Informed Care for Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)

Date & Time: Thursday, May 1, 2025 9AM-5PM ET

Location: Georgetown University Alumni House, 3604 O Street, NW Washington, DC 20057

Online registration is LIVE now. [REGISTER HERE]
*Registration is FREE & refreshments will be provided

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About the Lotus Project

The Lotus Project is a Center for Asian American & Asian Immigrant (AAAI) Child Trauma-Informed Care & Prevention that provides technical assistance, training, and resources to mental health service providers, community health workers, school staff, and other professionals who work with AAAI children and families affected by traumatic events and stress. Funded by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Lotus Project is a collaboration between the Public Health Institute (PHI) and Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS), based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Bouey from Georgetown University, Dr. Frankie Wong from the Florida State University, and Asian American Lead, the Lotus Project aims to work closely with local and national AAPI-serving organizations and stakeholders to implement this workshop and to create momentum for building stronger collaboration and improving trauma-informed care for AAPI communities.

About the Workshop

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are one of the fastest growing communities in the metropolitan D.C. area. With the mental health needs of AAPIs long neglected and the transition to the new federal administration, the need for strengthening coalitions among communities to enhance mental health and other social service programs for AAPIs has never been more pressing. This in-person workshop will address current local and national issues in delivering and accessing mental health services in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, facilitate collaboration and networking among participants, and discuss unique challenges and successes in providing culturally competent community-based practices and programs for AAPIs in the greater metropolitan D.C. area. This workshop also aims to foster advocacy efforts at both federal and local government levels, focusing on allocating more resources and opportunities for trauma-informed care and prevention for AAPI children and families.

Workshop Goals

  • To highlight the community-based programs that provide mental health and trauma-informed care for AAPI communities in the metropolitan D.C. area

  • To showcase community-based and culturally competent practices, programs, and rituals that enhance community bonding, pride, mutual support, and physical and mental health

  • To discuss strategies to strengthen the collaboration among AAPI-serving organizations, mental health professionals, community members, researchers, and government officers to enhance trauma-informed care for AAPIs

  • To enhance the capacity of AAPI-focused CBOs in the metropolitan D.C. area through integrating advocacy efforts of the national AAPI organizations

  • To amplify advocacy activities that prioritize the urgent mental health needs of AAPI communities at national and local levels

  • To connect attendees to resources of SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

Featured Topics

  • Efforts and resources for trauma-informed care from national AAPI organizations

  • Accomplishment and challenges in delivering culturally competent mental health services for AAPI communities in the Metropolitan D.C. Area

  • AAPI youth mental health presentations/panel

  • Policy-based initiatives and next steps for AAPI care

Speakers

Tooru Nemoto, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator & Research Project Director
Dr. Tooru Nemoto is Research Program Director at the Public Health Institute (PHI). Before joining PHI, Dr. Nemoto was Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He has been mainly engaging in substance abuse and HIV prevention studies and service projects for under-served and stigmatized populations, such as transgender and gender non-binary people, men who have sex with men (MSM), and sex workers in the U.S. and Asian countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia. He has been awarded a number of grants and service contracts from NIH, SAMHSA, CDC, HRSA, and private foundations. As Project Director, he recently completed a 5-year SAMHSA funded project providing trauma-informed care and prevention services targeting Asian youths in Alameda County. He co-authored a number of research papers in the field of substance abuse and HIV prevention and health promotion for under-served sexual, gender, and racial minority groups in peer-reviewed journals. 

Jennifer Bouey, Ph.D
Associate Professor and Department Chair of the Department of International Health, Georgetown University

Ben de Guzman
Director of DC Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (MOAPIA)

Siu Cheung Rossmark
Executive Director of Asian American LEAD (AALEAD)

Siu Cheung Rossmark is the Executive Director of Asian American LEAD (AALEAD) and a dedicated advocate for the Asian American community. She serves on the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and Montgomery County’s Asian Pacific American Advisory Group. With over 35 years in entrepreneurship, Siu has owned multiple businesses, including restaurants and ventures in real estate and financial services. A former Board Chair and Interim Executive Director of AALEAD, she expanded programs and partnerships. Siu’s leadership has driven community engagement, advocacy, and growth, while she enjoys family time and boating on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband.

Other speakers:

  • Rowena Mudiappa, LCSW (National Child Traumatic Stress Network)

  • Pata Suyemoto, Ph.D. (National AAPI Mental Health Association)

  • Angela Tang, LCSW (Richmond Area Multi-Services)

  • Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum

  • Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

  • and more!