**Inaugural Participants aka‍ ‍Community Researchers**

Rehat Thussu

is a nonprofit professional based in Boston, currently working in reproductive health and serving as Marketing Officer for CW Taekwondo Boston. A South Asian immigrant from India who has lived in the U.S. for nearly a decade, she identifies as Sikh and draws from a rich intersection of Kashmiri and Punjabi heritage.

Emily Kwong

is a North Shore-based artist, muralist, and community arts practitioner active with Boston Canto and Arts Collaborative Medford. Born and raised in Peabody, MA, she is a first-generation college graduate from a working-class background with roots in Hong Kong and Beverly. A bisexual artist, Emily creates work in response to her lived experience and the world around her.

Huiying “Hui” Chin

is a licensed acupuncturist from Malaysia who practices in downtown Boston. She loves cooking, traveling and volunteering in her free time. She devotes most of her time advocating for holistic and preventative healthcare for women and frontline workers. When we can care for the caregivers in our community, especially the women, we can all pour generously into our own cups before pouring out into the world.

Edith Philip

is an researcher at Community Labor United, with past experience at the Tufts Asian American Center, Saheli, and the Asian American Resource Workshop. A Tamil American raised in Louisiana, they are passionate about democratizing research and uplifting underrepresented voices.

Gahna Adaval

is a public health practitioner, organizer, and advocate serving as Regional Relationship Manager at Women’s Money Matters, Founding Director of Thbrwnbgprjct, and SOSWorcester organizer. A first-generation Indian American living in Central MA, she centers immigrant and underserved commune experiences in her behavioral and preventative health work.

Olly Nguyen

is a Social Media Specialist at 1975: Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial Initiative in Dorchester, MA, with a background in architectural history, project management, and affordable housing. A genderqueer, Vietnamese American and first-generation college graduate, their work reflects a deep interest in community, place, and storytelling.

Kiwa Shinoda

is a graduate of Brandeis University, where she studied Sociology and Environmental Studies. A Japanese American, she is passionate about amplifying marginalized voices, with a long-term goal of working at the intersection of AAPI advocacy and environmental justice.

“I feel affirmed knowing that research can be done in different ways, especially ways that center stories of marginalized people over data points that can lack nuance"

— Edith Philip
"I feel more inspired to use data for advocacy and decision-making"

— Kiwa Shinoda
“I have found research more accessible and that it’s not just quantitative. I love how I’ve learned that research is more than just numbers and can empower people and communities through a range of mediums and methods.”

— Rehat Thussu
“This program gave me the framework to formulate my research in a methodical way”

— Olly Nguyen

Projects

An artist with a deep interest in community, place, and storytelling, Olly’s curiosity mission asked: What MBTA Red Line commuters think about the state of the subway's facilities? Olly recorded (with consent) voice interviews from MBTA subway commuters on the Red Line. He asked questions on their experiences riding the Red Line, and noted many had positive reactions based on recent upgrades of the line.

Rehat focused her community curiosity mission on exploring the experiences of Asian international students at her alma mater, Mount Holyoke College. Specifically, she interviewed current international students from Asia at the college, and learned about their experiences. Her findings showed both unique and overlapping experiences; she learned that there are Asian stereotypes felt on campus, and some feel a sense of community whilst others do not.

Huiying “Hui” is a licensed acupuncturist from Malaysia who practices holistic medicine in downtown Boston. For her curiosity mission, Hui asked, “How do people learn about holistic healthcare and fertility support” she titles as “Shhhh, let’s ask a sister.” She found most of her clients learned holistic healthcare about through word of mouth and that it was most powerful. Hui noted that women trust other women when it comes to health. Additionally, Hui highlighted the need for women's circles and be vulnerable in asking for support and sharing resources. For future work, Hui plans to talk to her patients and other referral partners to build out a better referral system, as well as think about how patients can share reviews without compromising their privacy.

Gahna informs all her work based on the sanskrit ideology, SEVA (सेवा), or selfless service for the greater good. For Gahna’s community curiosity mission, an introductory exploration into community-informed research and action, she explored the question: How do AAPI youth reclaim belonging while serving both themselves and the greater collective community? She found and shared that in creating third spaces where folks are comfortable sharing stories of identity and community resilience, belonging and collective community is stronger. She hopes to continue to build her community welfare system with values such as solidarity, creativity, mindfulness, and critical service learning.

With a passion to amplify marginalized voices, Kiwa asked the research question: How do Boston Special Needs (BSN) members utilize third spaces in navigating immigrant place-making? More specifically, she interviews parents in the BSN support group about the group itself. She conducted several interviews with parents in the group, and found that BSN support group parents benefited from judgement-free inclusive safe spaces. She noted parents expressed a need for resource sharing and confiding in other parents in similar situations, passing down traditions, and feelings of family between members. For future work, Kiwa hopes to create a website for the group as a resource and archive.

As a North Shore-based artist, muralist, and community arts practitioner, as well as a mixed-Asian American from a working-class background, Emily creates work in response to her lived experience and the world around her. Emily explored mixed race families, most notably her own, and how intersectional identity transfers generationally. Emily interviewed her parents and relatives, and asked questions around their respective experiences growing up and/or immigrating to the US. Some impactful responses on feelings of belonging she highlighted were: “If I am neglected by both, where do I stand?” and “INBETWEEN: a rock and a hard place.”

Edith is a Tamil immigrant raised in Louisiana and is passionate about democratizing research and uplifting underrepresented voices. Their curiosity mission explored the cultural and legal differences in stories from refugees and immigrants, specifically those identifying as Vietnamese and Tamil. They utilized books and peer reviewed research that conducted interviews to understand qualitatively what being a refugee meant for people versus being an immigrant because of different legal and cultural backgrounds. They learned more about the different rights and legal protections given and classified for different levels of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Project not pictured.