Healthcare Policy and Public Charge
On Undocumented, Immigrant, Refugee, and Minority Populations
How do healthcare policies affect our community? Come to learn more about the different types of healthcare policies, its effects and the impacts it has on communities of color, especially undocumented populations, and what role healthcare administration plays in strengthening and advocating for better and accessible health care.
Thu Quach
Thu Quach, PhD has been working in public health and health care for over two decades. Her research, service, and advocacy work have been grounded in her own lived experience as a refugee from Vietnam, and the struggles her family faced in the health care system. Trained as an epidemiologist, she has conducted community-based research, focusing on Asian Americans and immigrant populations, including examining occupational exposures and health impacts among Vietnamese nail salon workers. This work was inspired by her own mother, who passed from cancer at the age of 58, after working as a cosmetologist for decades. These research findings have contributed to the extraordinary work of the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, informing community engagement with the nail salon workforce and policy advocacy. Dr. Quach currently serves as the Chief Deputy of Administration at Asian Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Oakland serving approximately 28,000 patients in English and 14 Asian languages. She is involved in local, statewide, and national research and policy efforts to promote health equity. In addition, she has been very involved in a relatively new organization – the Progressive Vietnamese American Organization (PIVOT), which engages and empowers Vietnamese Americans for a just and diverse America. Dr. Quach received her Bachelors of Art as U.C. Berkely, her Masters in Public Health at U.C.L.A. and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology at U.C. Berkeley.
Joe Lee
Joe Lee is the Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO). In his everyday role, Joe partners with AAPCHO’s 33 member health centers across the U.S. and its territories to increase access to care, improve health outcomes, and promote health equity in medically underserved communities. With over nine years of experience in community health, Joe is passionate about building synergistic partnerships, facilitating creative solutions, and training tomorrow’s healthcare workforce. Prior to AAPCHO, Joe worked at the Alameda Health Consortium, Community Health Center Network, and LifeLong Medical Care in various roles as Workforce Development Strategist and Program Manager. Joe also worked at the City of Berkeley and Sierra Club, where he developed his passion for community organizing. In addition to his professional work, Joe serves as an advisor for the Asian American & Pacific Islander Health Research Group and an advocate for progressive health policy issues. Joe holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS in Healthcare Administration and Interprofessional Leadership at the University of California, San Francisco.