The Lotus Project Professional Advisory Board (PAB) consists of researchers and educators who specialize in the field of social science and pubic health, particularly for mental health and trauma-informed care and prevention for Asian American and Asian immigrants (AAAI) in the U.S. Through quarterly conference calls, PAB members will discuss program issues with the project team and provide feedback on developing and finalizing the project protocol, educational and training materials for workshops, webinars, and consultations, developing and maintaining the project website, and implementing advocacy activities.

Current PAB Members

Dorothy Chin, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Dorothy Chin is Associate Research Psychologist with the UCLA Center for Culture, Trauma, and Mental Health Disparities at the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA. Her research examines the effects of community and personal trauma on psychological functioning, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD, among ethnic minority populations. She was Principal Investigator of a two-year grant Healing Our Women (HOW) Project, a capacity-building effort funded by the California Endowment to increase integrated HIV-trauma interventions in community-based organizations. The HOW curriculum has been designated by the CDC as an evidenced-based intervention. Dr. Chin is currently Member-At-Large of Div 56 (Trauma Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. She reviews regularly for APA book proposals and journals, and has served on the Editorial Boards for Psychology of Women Quarterly, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, and Psychological Assessment. She has mentored masters- and doctoral-level scholars from South Africa as part of the Fogarty International Collaborative Program, a multi-disciplinary training program for research on the effects of trauma on health and mental health. Dr. Chin recently wrote a blog for Psychology Today about psychological issues from a multicultural, working class, and women-centered perspective: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/dorothy-chin-phd

Diana Chu, M.A., LMFT, RDT

Diana Chu, MFT, RDT provides counseling services for Asian American children, families and adults in San Francisco. She leads workshops at national conferences for clinicians and provides mental health consultation for AAPI non-profits. She is an Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitator at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, supporting MBA students in developing emotional intelligence, communication skills and self-awareness. Diana also hosts a podcast called Waves of Change, which promotes mental health awareness in Asian American communities.

Frank Y. Wong, Ph.D., Florida State University, Tallahassee

Dr. Wong is McKenzie Endowed Professor of Health Equity Research and Founding Director of the Center of Population Science for Health Equity at Florida State University. He has a scientific and professional background in social psychology and management. Dr. Wong has expertise and extensive experience in conducting interdisciplinary research integrating behavioral, clinical, genomic, and social indicators to address the intersectionality of HIV and other non-HIV sexually transmitted infections and mental health (e.g., depression) among marginalized and vulnerable populations (including immigrants, refugees, and linguistic and sexual minorities) in the U.S., China, Panamá, Russia, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Việt Nam. He is also known for his work in capacity building for research infrastructure. 

Jun-chih Gisela Lin, Ph.D., ABPP

Jun-chih Gisela Lin, Ph.D., ABPP, graduated from University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1993.  Dr. Lin is a Past President and Fellow of the Asian American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 45, 52, 35 and 17), and co-founder of the Taiwan Psychology Network.  She has been licensed as a psychologist in Texas since 1994 and board certified by the American Board of Counseling Psychology since 1999.  After retiring from Texas A&M University in 2019 after 26 years working in the counseling center, Dr. Lin is engaged in private practice and consultation through her company Gisela Lin Counseling and Consultation Services PLLC.

 Dr. Lin has extensive professional organization leadership experiences, has served on advisory boards and committees for grant-funded research projects, and journal editorial boards. Dr. Lin co-led a counseling delegation group to China and Mongolia.  Her areas of interests include multicultural counseling, mentoring, executive coaching, organizational consulting and women’s health. 

Don Operario, Ph.D., Brown University

Don Operario is a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health at Brown University. For 20+ years, he has conducted research with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and other minoritized communities to document and address health inequities related to structural systems, social inclusion, culture, and identity.

Velma Kameoka, Ph.D., University of Hawaii

Dr. Velma A. Kameoka is Professor Emerita of Psychology and former Interim Vice Chancellor for Research (VCR) and Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship at the UH Mānoa. Dr. Kameoka also served as UH Mānoa’s Associate VCR, having previously served as the Director of the Social Science Research Institute. Dr. Kameoka has an extensive research background in statistical and psychometric modeling for the assessment of depression and related psychological disorders, mental health disparities among multiethnic populations, and community-based substance use prevention programming for high-risk youth in Hawai‘i’s ethnically diverse population. Dr. Kameoka’s work also involved extramurally supported research training activities focused on developing next generation behavioral and mental health scientists among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and underrepresented Asian popu

Julian Chun-Chung Chow, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley