As we wind down this beautiful month of May, we would like to take a moment to highlight Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
People of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestries are from approximately 50 distinct ethnic groups speaking over 100 languages. These ancestries include Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Hawaiian, and more.
In the US, 25+ million people identify as AAPI.
Today, we want to celebrate one particular person, an Asian American scientist, clinician, and professor who is particularly dear to our hearts.
Meet Nerdy Girl, Dr. Kumar!
You may know Dr. Kumar from her Nerdy Girl posts on mental health issues. (See her posts here) But did you also know she has four advanced degrees in public health, science, and nursing? And she leads our Spanish language team, is a member of our executive team, and lovingly and patiently helps edit her co-contributors’ posts! All that in her spare time when she is not teaching, researching, practicing as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and being an amazing human in her family and her community!
Thank you, Dr. Kumar, for all you are and all you do!
Read more about our fabulous Dr. Kumar below:
Dr. Aparna Kumar is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC) who works to ensure that mental health care is accessible, evidence-based, and integrated across healthcare settings. Her research aims to improve outcomes for women, children, and families by showing how and why mental health influences many aspects of our lives. She is an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University and the program director for the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program. In addition, she is the Chief Community Officer at Dear Pandemic. She received training from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (BSN, MSN, PhD), The University of Malawi (MPH), and Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (MA). Kumar has had the privilege to live in sub-Saharan Africa for several years, which continues to shape her exploration of culture, diversity, and community as it impacts mental health care. Kumar currently lives outside of Philadelphia with her cats and people and loves to brew kombucha and make glitter jars in her free time.
Love to all,
Those Nerdy Girls
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Resources:
Get the facts about AAPI Heritage Month
More facts about AAPI Heritage Month
Learn more about AAPI women in history
Learn more about dimensions of mental health relevant to AAPI communities
