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Schedule

Thursday, May 5, 2022
6 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Program
8 p.m. Book-signing

The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and anti-Asian racism have revealed the crucial importance of mental and emotional health for Asian Americans, immigrants, and other minorities and marginalized people. These rapidly growing communities face the challenge of navigating these needs while struggling to understand and honor the richness of their heritage while integrating the many facets of their identity. In her new book, Permission to Come Home, Dr. Jenny Wang weaves together personal stories of strength, pain, and resilience with incisive analysis of Asian American and immigrant identities and how they affect our individual and collective mental health.

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Dr. Wang joins Asia Society Texas to launch her new book with a candid, compassionate conversation on racial trauma and racial identity, and the path toward healing.

Books preordered through Asia Society Texas will be available for pick-up at the event. Books will also be available for purchase at the event and there will be an on-site book-signing following the program.

About the Speaker

Dr. Jenny T. Wang is a Taiwanese American clinical psychologist and national speaker on the intersections of Asian American identity, mental health, and racial trauma. She received her doctorate from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and completed her postdoctoral training at the Duke University Medical Center. Her professional mission is to destigmatize mental health within the Asian community and empower Asian Americans to prioritize their own mental well-being. In her private practice, she witnessed how difficult it was for Asian American clients to find mental health professionals who understand their unique immigrant and diasporic experiences. This led her to start mental health directories, including the Asians for Mental Health therapist directory (www.asiansformentalhealth.com), to connect individuals with culturally reverent mental health care for Asian American diasporas. She started the Instagram community Asians for Mental Health (@asiansformentalhealth), where she explores the unique ways in which Asian American identity impacts our mental health.

About the Moderator

Rekha Muddaraj is an Anchor/Reporter at KHOU 11 News in Houston, Texas specializing in health/medical reporting. Rekha Muddaraj joined KHOU 11 News in 2012. She currently anchors the 4 p.m. weekday news. Prior to her move to Houston, Rekha worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor at KFMB-TV (CBS) in San Diego for five years, where she won an Emmy for her breaking news coverage of the 2007 Southern California Wildfires. Rekha also worked as a reporter at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, KS. She covered news in four states including Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. She holds two degrees from Arizona State University: a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication (from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism) and a B.S. in Political Science.

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Asia Society Texas Business & Policy Programs, Endowed by

Huffington Foundation

Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Bank of America, Muffet Blake, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and United Airlines. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Nancy Pollok Guinee, and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as The Brown Foundation, Inc. and Houston Endowment. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Asia Society Texas Center, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.

Business & Policy Presenting Sponsors

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.