“Your worth is not in what you do, or how well you do it. Your worth is in who you are.”

My Story

As a 1.5 generation Taiwanese immigrant, I’ve experienced first-hand the challenges that comes with acculturation stress. I understand the cultural values of collectivism, filial piety, and saving face and how they clash with individualistic values through conflict and familial tension.

Being an Asian American woman, I have experienced and fought against fetishization and combatted patriarchal structures that keep us from taking up space. And as the eldest daughter, I’m all too familiar with the burdens we are expected to carry, the chronic guilt we experience, and feelings of selfishness that haunt us if we choose ourselves.

For the past few years, I’ve been on an intentional journey of decolonizing and dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy from my cultural heritage, gender identity, and theology. In my journey of healing, I was able to reclaim parts of myself that had been lost, rejected, and stolen. I have challenged barriers that held me hostage, and I have used my voice to find liberation. I have learned to unlearn dysfunctional familial patterns and have broken generational cycles. I am able to occupy a liminal space, an intentional space of belonging and of not fully belonging in order to be someone who connects to all of humanity.

Why I became a therapist

As a former Teach for America 2012 teacher who taught in Title 1 high schools in Miami and in San Francisco, I witnessed the profound struggles my students faced—toxic stress, familial trauma, and racial trauma caused by poverty and structural inequities. This trauma unfolded inside my classroom and it not only hindered their ability to learn but also perpetuated cycles of marginalization within society. For me, teaching became a form of therapy. My classroom became a safe haven and it was there where I saw students heal and transform.

My students’ resilience was what inspired me to pursue a career in counseling. Driven by a passion to serve culturally diverse and underserved communities, I transitioned to the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health agency, where I worked with at-risk and foster youth. In 2020, after witnessing the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, I recognized a pressing need to support and uplift the Asian community. This realization propelled me to establish my own therapy and coaching practice—a space dedicated to providing culturally responsive and trauma-informed care to individuals navigating mental health challenges. Through my work, I am committed to empowering others to heal, thrive, and reclaim their voices in a world too often marked by adversity and injustice.

Fun Facts

I grew up competing in playing the cello and piano
My favorite food is anything that goes well with habanero sauce
I’m an aspiring runner and have done 2 half marathons

I can rap geometry while playing the ukulele …I may have a math music video somewhere on the intertube
I was Rookie Teacher of the Year in my first year of teaching
I like salsa dancing and salsa eating