About the SEAAster Scholars Collective
Our SEAAsterScholars Collective was developed as an act of self-determination among our members. Having navigated education institutions on our own, connecting with other SEAA scholars in higher education finally provided us the opportunity to not feel isolated or alone. We decided to create a space for ourselves in a context where we were not yet seen. This was a homemaking process. We fostered deep connections among each other by listening and understanding, connecting our individual experiences to the larger cultural, socio-historical, and political issues impacting our community. Our goals are to provide a space for ourselves and to conduct work that advances social justice for our SEAA communities, especially in higher education.
DAVORN SISAVATH, PH.D.
Davorn Sisavath is assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Asian American Studies Program at California State University, Fullerton. She received her PhD in Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego, and has received several awards, including the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship and the UC Human Rights Fellowship. She has published essays in Radical History Review and Journal of Transnational American Studies. Her research interests include: US militarism and war, gendered labor and global political economy, waste and environment, Southeast Asians and Asian American Studies.
JACQUELINE MAC, PH.D.
Jacqueline Mac identifies as a first-generation student and as an ethnic Chinese Vietnamese woman. Her dedication to equity and justice work is informed by her family’s refugee experiences, heavily shaped by a background in Asian American studies, and drawn from her work as a professional in student affairs and nonprofit sectors. She is an assistant professor of higher education at Northern Illinois University. Jacqueline conducts research to examine race and racism in education, understand the effectiveness of higher education policies and practices, and advance institutional transformation towards equity. She has a particular focus on racially marginalized students, such as Southeast Asian Americans, and the institutions that serve them, also known as minority serving institutions.
latana jennifer thaviseth
Latana Jennifer Thaviseth identifies as a Lao(Lue/Tai) American woman, first generation college graduate, daughter of refugees, and calls Des Moines, Washington her hometown. She is the assistant director of the Asian American Activities Center at Stanford University and a doctoral student at UCLA. Her research focuses on the educational and occupational trajectories of Southeast Asian American college students.
LINDA M. PHENG
Linda M. Pheng is a Khmer American assistant professor of Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division at University of Pennsylvania. Grounded in her identity as a daughter of Khmer refugees, her research centers the voices of Southeast Asian American communities to examine the policies, practices, and narratives that frame youths’ experiences within schools and out-of-school spaces. She has investigated these areas through various qualitative research projects which make use of a variety of methodologies, including in-depth interviews, participant observations, ethnographic fieldwork, textual analysis, and surveys. Her dissertation project examines how a co-ethnic community-based youth youth program works with Southeast Asian American high school youth to cultivate critical consciousness around race and class inequalities in their daily lives. And, in turn, how youth use this knowledge to understand and challenge the educational policy debates and urban reforms that impact their schools, communities, and city.
MALAPHONE PHOMMASA, ph.d.
Malaphone Phommasa is a Lao American daughter of refugees and first-generation college graduate. Motivated by her identity and dedication to educational access and equity, Malaphone’s research focused on the persistence and retention of Southeast Asian American university students. She served as an Assistant Professor, Minority Faculty Fellow at Marshall University in West Virginia before making the conscious decision to leave the faculty route in order to be closer to family and community in Southern California. Malaphone’s current role as the Director of Academic Success Initiatives in the Office of Undergraduate Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara allows Malaphone to advocate for first-generation college students, minoritized student populations, and transfer students. As a scholar-practitioner, she continues to navigate what it means to be a first-gen professional.
VANESSA S. NA
Vanessa S. Na is a Khmer American daughter of a first daughter of a first daughter of refugees. She is a doctoral student in Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on the interrogation of and resistance to oppressive logics on college campuses through examinations of race and gender, college student activism, and the formation of solidarities. Vanessa’s work contends with neoliberalism's influence on higher education and centers feminist of color epistemologies. She hopes to work towards liberation and honor the work of her communities by co-creating knowledge that is accessible, representative of, and relevant to the communities that she serves.
VARAXY YI, PH.D.
Varaxy Yi is a Khmer American woman, the eldest daughter of refugees, and first-generation college graduate and faculty member. She is an associate professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership (HEAL) in the Department of Educational Leadership at the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at California State University, Fresno. She conducts research to advance equity, access, and opportunity for historically underserved communities, such as racially minoritized, Southeast Asian American, and refugee populations.
