THE FOUNDERS

​Kathy Lu
Co-Founder

​kathy@immigranthistory.org

Kathy grew up in Oregon and is a former Skadden Fellow who has spent the last decade working in education, Asian American studies, and organizing. She studied International Relations at Pomona College and worked in public schools as an AmeriCorps member. At Yale Law School, she led the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and the Immigration Legal Services clinic. Kathy has worked as a nonprofit attorney with Asian survivors of gender violence and vulnerable families of color.

​Julia Chang Wang
​Co-Founder

​julia@immigranthistory.org

​Julia immigrated to the U.S. at age 9. As a child, Julia loved learning history but never saw stories about people like her and her family. She studied History and Economics at Harvard University and received a Gates Scholarship to study and obtain her Masters in History at the University of Cambridge. Since graduating from Yale Law, she has worked as a litigator and at several global nonprofits. Julia has published several articles on immigration and Asian American identity.

THE TEAM

Nhi Nguyen
curriculum developer

Nhi Nguyen (she/her) was born and raised in Philadelphia and is the proud daughter of immigrants from Vietnam.  She is an early child museum education specialist, who has worked in the education departments of several museums in Washington D.C and Philadelphia. Her work focuses on the intersection of anti-racist pedagogy and early childhood museum education and ways to talk about and cultivate a positive racial identity with children. 

Sulynn Miao
curriculum developer

Sulynn (she/her) grew up in Washington State, the daughter of immigrants from Tianjin, China. She is a graduate from University of California, Berkeley and  has worked as a mental health counselor supporting the healing of youth and families with severe trauma histories. She currently leads programs and initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion and coordinates vocational education services for students to cultivate their aspirations for the future. 

Odette Wang
operations

Odette (she/her) is a California Bay Area native and a graduate of Yale University with a degree in Sociology. She has worked in a variety of educational and nonprofit spaces, including New Haven public schools, the New York State Education Department, and the education programs department at the Yale University Art Gallery. She currently works in development and fundraising at a New Haven youth programs nonprofit.

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Sarah Appelbaum
restorative justice expert

Sarah Appelbaum, Ed. M., is an educator, restorative justice (RJ) practitioner, and school social worker in training. Sarah graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2019 with a program focus in counseling and prevention. As a consultant, Sarah partners with organizations to create RJ resources, implement RJ practices, and address challenging situations.

Junee Kim
grants & development manager (volunteer)

Junee is a nontraditional student studying Human Rights at Columbia University and a graduate of the City Colleges of Chicago. They are excited to work alongside IHI at the intersection of migration, race, and social justice.

Abby Sachar
fundraising &
​communications associate

Abby is a junior at Cornell University studying Government and Statistical Science. She is highly interested in political theory and colonial and postcolonial studies. On campus, she works with Cornell Votes, and for fun, she enjoys hiking, reading, and baking cookies.

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Emily Chew
curriculum intern

Emily (they/them) is from Memphis, Tennessee and third generation of Chinese-Americans in the South.  Emily is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and a current student at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Arts in Education program.  Emily is an arts education administrator and educator passionate about designing learning experiences at the intersection of identity, narrative, and arts. ​