Building BIPOC Unity Against Asian Hate
Attendees participated in interactive educational presentation and panel discussion highlighting how our community can feel more equipped to have conversations about race. This panel was designed to create a space where professionals from the AAPI community working in global higher education can come together to share their individual experiences and work together to synthesize a tool kit to better support AAPI and BIPOC professionals in the higher ed system who have been historically underrepresented. It will explore themes of identity (both self-imposed and one imposed by others) within the Asian community, and collective action as we equip ourselves to boldly speak up and out in a system, not designed for us.
If you would like to view the recording, email info@compear.org.
MEET OUR PANELISTS
Dr. Sumie Song , Director of Global Education, Teaching Faculty at North Park University
Sumie Song is the director of Global Education in the Office of International Affairs at North Park University, which oversees study abroad programs and support services for international students and scholars. Sumie received her Ph.D. from Duke University in German Studies and B.A. from Williams College in Comparative Literature. At North Park, she teaches courses on medieval literature, postcolonial literature, and experimental education. Sumie helped establish the University’s Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and in 2018 served as interim director of the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Programming.
Melissa Lee , Founder & CEO of the Green Program
Melissa Lee is the Founder and CEO of The GREEN Program (TGP), an award-winning experiential education program for young leaders in sustainable development. For her work with TGP, Melissa was recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners as the Environmental Advocate of the Year, Philadelphia magazine's Best of Philly® - Expander of Frontiers, and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Education. Melissa has served as a U.S. Global Schools Ambassador for the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and a Heinz Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh.
Anna Mei Gubbins, Graduate Student, Middlebury Insitute
Anna Mei Gubbins is currently a master’s candidate at the Middlebury Institute. She is Chinese-Adoptee from Massachusetts who studied abroad in Madrid, Spain and Valparaíso, Chile. She graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in Hispanic Studies where she wrote her honors thesis about human rights discourse in colonial Latin America. She has worked in the fields of psychology, education, and corporate travel, and she has a particular interest in the incorporation of DEI initiatives into programming, student identity and development, and holistic student support.