About this Event
Engage with the history of Asian American racialization and activism through this conversation and gathering. Interact with history, art, and each other to imagine how to amplify and sustain the Asian American experience. Facilitated by Paul J. Koh (Towson University Professor of Education) and Phyllis Zhu (artist and therapist). Co-sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group & Allies.
About the Facilitators
Paul J. Koh is a Korean-Immigrant-American scholar dedicated to centering the experiences of racially marginalized communities, particularly the Asian American/AAPI community. His research focuses on educators' and educational leaders' experiences in cultivating transformational spaces, developing counternarratives, engaging in collectivist leadership actions, and forming cross-racial coalitions to help schools transcend their racialized contexts.
For over 20 years, Paul has worked as a history teacher, assistant principal, principal, principal supervisor, and assistant superintendent in the Bay Area and Wake County (NC). He is proud of his heritage and his educational journey at UC Davis, UC Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute, and East Carolina University's International EdD program.
As an assistant professor in Towson University's College of Education, he teaches courses on leadership, school finance, and school law. He enjoys working with students to ensure schools are places of purpose, belonging, and success for all.
Phyllis Zhu (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker, Registered Play Therapist, and self-taught visual artist based in Baltimore, MD. Her therapy practice focuses on reclaiming cultural identities, healing intergenerational trauma and finding joy and nourishment in APIMEDA community. Phyllis graduated with her MSW from Hunter College CUNY and has since worked in community mental health, school-based programs in Baltimore City, and with survivors of sexual trauma and the LGBTQIA+ community.
As a child of Chinese immigrants, Phyllis also uses her art process to explore the immigrant experience of navigating liminal spaces and reconnecting with ancestral power in a playful way. Phyllis works primarily with fiber arts using knitting, weaving, and embroidery techniques to create textiles and images that draw on elements of nature and her Asian heritage.
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This program is part of Asia North 2025: An Asian Arts & Culture Festival in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District
Info:
Asia North 2025 partners and sponsors include TU Asian Arts & Culture Center, Central Baltimore Partnership, Station North Arts District, Motor House, Currency Studio, Club Car, Mobtown Ballroom, Maryland State Arts Council, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, Citizens of Baltimore County, Orange Barrel Media, Johns Hopkins University, Korean Cultural Center Washington DC, TU-BTU Presidential Priority, Community Housing Partners, Barkada Breads, Baltimore Changwon-Sister City Committee, Korean American Foundation – Greater Washington, Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, Mike Shecter, Neighborhood Housing Services, Neighborhood Design Center, NAAAP Baltimore, OTS Productions, Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group & Allies, Baltimore Improv Group, and Rosa Chang.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
16 W North Ave, 16 West North Avenue, Baltimore, United States
USD 0.00
