Episode #4: Pata Suyemoto on Mental Health

We are delighted to speak with Dr. Pata Suyemoto, a feminist scholar, writer, educator, and a mental health advocate, as well as a champion for racial and social justice.
 
She is Co-Chair for the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention’s People of Color Caucus.
 
Through her work and lived experience with depression, she provides a voice to Asian American women who struggle with mental health, and she helps to foster compassion over the associated stigma.
 
BIO:
Pata earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and did her research on multicultural education and issues of race and racism. She is a member of a number of boards and committees, including the planning committee for the annual Asian American Mental Health Forum and the Department of Public Health’s Suicide Prevention Community Advisory Board. She is the Co-Chair for the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention’s People of Color Caucus.
 
Pata has spoken and written about her struggles with depression and is a co-founder of The Breaking Silences Project www.thebreakingsilencesproject.com, which is an artistic endeavor that educates about the high rates of depression and suicide among Asian American young women. She is also a long-time volunteer for Asian Women for Health and is a trainer and wellness coach for the Achieving Whole Health program. Her claim to fame is that she rode her bicycle across the country in the summer of 2012.
 
LEARN MORE:
www.thebreakingsilencesproject.com
Asian American Mental Health Forum