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Boston, MA – Asian Women for Health (AWFH) announced today the appointment of Nandini Sangarasivam Choudhury, LCSW, MPH and Ingrid Chiemi Schroffner, J.D. to our Board of Directors. Following these appointments, the board will comprise of 8 members with backgrounds ranging from biotechnology to public health consulting to reproductive health social work.
In addition, board elections were held on October 20th and the board has appointed Adam Thomas as the new Chair and Amali De Zoysa as the new Clerk of the board. “As we pursue our goal of growing AWFH as an organization and our reach in the AAPI community,” said Chien-Chi Huang, AWFH Founder and Executive Director, “It’s imperative that we have a well-rounded board that can take us to that next level. With Adam’s extensive experience and long history of leadership, he is an ideal person for the role of Chair and I look forward to working closely with Adam towards AWFH’s mission of improving the health outcomes and well being of Asian women all across the nation.” Mr. Thomas brings to the Board over 20 years of experience in human resources and leading companies to recruit and retain top talent. He holds an M.B.A. from Boston University, a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from the University of Edinburgh and an M.A. in human resource management from the University of the West of England He has served as the Chief People Officer at Synlogic since July 2017, where he is responsible for all human resource functions. During his time at Synlogic he also served as the Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining Synlogic, he served as Vice President and Head of Human Resources for Research and Development at Shire during a period when the company underwent major expansion, doubling the size of its research and development workforce in Massachusetts. Earlier in his career, he has also served as director in various human resources functions at companies like S. C. Johnson & Son and Company and Pfizer. In his new role, Mr. Thomas hopes to continue to drive AWFH’s focus on empowering Asian women to build the strength and confidence to become champions for health equity through education, advocacy, and support. Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Thomas stated: “I am honored to have been appointed to the role of Chair at an important and exciting time for Asian Women for Health. Under Chien-Chi’s leadership the organization continues to expand its impact on closing the health gap experienced by Asian women, a gap that has been increasingly evident as we emerge from the pandemic. I look forward to working with the Board, Chien-Chi and the AWFH team to advance our mission and meet the challenges of the community we serve.” For any further questions or inquiries, please contact: Hilary Wong, Communications and Partnerships Coordinator hwong@asianwomenforhealth.org
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 Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash By Dr. Agnes M. Costello
At a young age, my grandparents always referred to health as a balance between the ying and the yang, the hot and cold. Most importantly, they always stressed trying to first heal the body with natural products such as herbs or supplements. As a scientist and a pharmacist, I often struggle to integrate Traditional Chinese Medicine into Western Medicine.  By Dr. Pata Suyemoto
I am an Asian American woman with lived-experience with chronic major depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I have lived with mental illness since I was in junior high school, when I used to sit in the dark at my mother’s desk watching the snow fall and wondering how long it would take to die if I went outside in the frozen world. I am lucky, in that I got treatment and have learned to live with my conditions. However, I have to navigate the world differently than those who do not have mental health issues.  Artwork by: Heidi HyunJin Lee "Unbroken" Oil on canvas 30 x 40 inches By Heidi HyunJin Lee
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S2774.pdf Article Response: https://wildfloweralliance.org/a-certification-board-for-peer-specialists-is-coming-to-massachusetts-what-will-that-mean-for-us/ After reading the article, “A Certification Board for Peer Specialists Is Coming to Massachusetts” by the Wild Flower Alliance, I better understood the significance of the NAMI motto, “Nothing about us without us.” By Dr. Agnes M. Costello
April is National Minority Health Month, which gives me an opportunity to think about how I can help to reduce health disparities and improve the health of Asian Americans. We must first recognize and acknowledge that there are fundamental differences in various aspects of health between Asian Americans and other racial and ethnic groups. These health differences are closely linked to our genes, social, economic, and environmental factors. Are you aware that Asians may response to certain medications differently than Caucasians? Did you know that most of the medications used in cancer or heart diseases were studied in patients who were not Asians? For the next series of blogs, I would like raise awareness of health issues that disproportionately affect Asians and how we can work together to understand and address these issues. I am not a small person – although I am short, I am also quite round. As an Asian American woman, I am expected to be small and thin and quiet and diminutive and submissive. I am none of these things. Yet this expectation is still thrust upon me – and this expectation is not only from the dominant culture – it also comes from the Asian American community. Yet, we know that all people, including Asians and Asian Americans come in all sizes and to discriminate and disparage people who are not the mythic “right size” is an equity issue.
September is Healthy Aging month which applies to young and old. It’s about living our best life with truth, purpose, and curiosity. Learn how Sound Therapy and music meditation can add comfort, balance, and peace to your life.
 Since January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month, I thought it would be the perfect time to share both my experiences conducting educational workshops across nail salons in the Greater Boston area, as well as my motivations behind them.
 The 8th annual State of Asian Women’s Health Conference was held virtually on November 12, 2020, and this year’s theme was “Trust in the Time of COVID: Best Practices for Culturally Responsive Care & Support”. Almost 100 community members, from students to health professionals, registered for our first virtual conference! Conference objectives included:
To get involved in next year’s annual conference, please email info@asianwomenforhealth.org.  My work with Asian Women for Health is currently focusing on community outreach, primarily to conduct educational workshops about breast and cervical health and screenings. I have been mainly making contact with the Vietnamese community, specifically nail salon owners, to survey how COVID19 has impacted their health and to understand the barriers around getting screened during this time.
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