Our Staff
Nina Jusuf
Nina Jusuf has been working on domestic violence and sexual assault issues since 1992, starting as a hotline volunteer before becoming a shelter-based domestic violence advocate and later as the Executive Director of the San Francisco Women Against Rape for five years. She is one of the founders of NAPIESV and has led numerous trainings and technical assistance on sexual assault and domestic violence issues in general and API-specific trauma-informed services. Nina believes in collective wellness beyond self-care and has led/facilitated trainings on organizational sustainability, multicultural wellness, sustaining activists and activism, and genuine security for survivors, activists, and women human rights defenders in Asia, the Balkans, and the United States. In addition, Nina has experience leading an experiential learning-based youth organization and overseeing the Home Based Childcare Center and Federal Nutrition Program. She can be reached at [email protected].
Mira Yusef
Mira Yusef is the executive director of Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, formerly Monsoon United Asian Women of Iowa, an organization serving victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Iowa. She is also one of the founders and one of the staff of the National Organization of Asian Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence (NAPIESV). Mira has a Master’s in Social Work, with specialization in Community Organizing, and a Master of Arts in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Mira was a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, 2004-2005, to pursue research in the Philippines on Muslim Filipinas employed as domestic workers in the Middle East. She was also awarded the National Security Education Program (NSEP) David Boren Fellowship in 2006 to study the Indonesian and Malay languages as well as conduct field research in Malaysia and the Philippines. She can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
Hieu Pham
Hieu Pham is a Program Associate at the National Association of Asians & Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence. She was formerly a Co-Director of Programs and Community Outreach at Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, where she administered the Campus Advocacy Program and launched Yoni Chats, a support group for API sexual assault victims focused on healthy sexuality and healing through the arts and culturally-rooted practices. Hieu is a former journalist who worked as a government reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen and covered presidential campaigns for Agence France-Presse. She immigrated to the United States as a child and refugee from Vietnam and is passionate about issues such as Asian American identity, community health, and the immigrant diaspora experience. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Iowa. Hieu can be reached at [email protected].
Ann Nguyen
Ann Nguyen is the Social Media Coordinator at National Organization of Asian Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence (NAPIESV) & Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, working remotely from Illinois. She was born & raised in Iowa and identifies as Vietnamese-American, and is conversational in Vietnamese. Ann graduated from Iowa State University in 2021 and received a B.A in Apparel, Merchandising, and Design with an emphasis in Public Relations. She started her career as Monsoon's Community Outreach & Social Media Coordinator based in the Des Moines office where she will led long-form and short-form content that engaged Monsoon’s diverse audiences both online and in-person. She can be reached at [email protected].
Meg Sunga
A proud bisexual second-generation Filipino-American, Meg Sunga (she/her) is the Program Associate for NAPIESV. She is currently the host of ElevateUplift's Rooted in Healing podcast and is the owner of the podcast production company, Idea Pig Productions LLC. She earned her B.A. in Sociology at the University of Arkansas and received her M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Central Florida. With ten years of experience across three different industries: higher education, ed-tech, and social advocacy, Meg passionately invests in work that enhances diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her spare time, Meg travels, sings karaoke, and serves as a Big for Big Brothers Big Sisters. She can be reached at [email protected].
Jeanette Acosta
Jeanette Acosta is a Program Associate at the National Organization of Asians & Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence (NAPIESV). She works remotely and is based in California. Jeanette was trained at Cornell University in the Field of Medicinal Plants, and teaches Herbalism and Ethnobotany with a niche in Maritime Culture and California Native Plants. She is a Clinical Aromatherapist, an Ayurveda Health + Yoga Practitioner/Teacher Trainer, a Certified Teacher in Permaculture Agroecological Design, and has taught and supported several Native Nations to move towards successful cultural food sovereignty programs. She co-curated the herbal program for WeavingEarth in collaboration with the Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA) for NARA's Youth Residential Treatment Center. Jeanette can be reached at [email protected].
Mylene A. Cahambing (aka Auntie r.a.d. Leng Leng)
Mylene A. Cahambing, also known as Auntie r.a.d. Leng Leng or Enunja ti tatinmiji hataji, is the Research & Evaluation Program Coordinator at NAPIESV. Rad has been a longtime supporter of NAPIESV with previous work on NAPIESV’s collaborative writings: Healing BSDBJ Peace Bangka Peace Canoe 2014 and NAPIESV’s 2021-22 Wellness Healing Guide. Twin-Born in Quezon City to Bisayan parents, she immigrated to the SF Bay Area when she was 10 years old. She is a Public Health Nurse / Integrative Disability Wellness Advocate to erase stigma related to invisible conditions via Rekonstraksyon, a social media post-TBI traumatic growth resource space. Rad is a Vision Holder, Co-Founder and blogger of Balik sa Dagat Bangka Journey, sharing inter-tribal canoe-building dream stories that became a World Bangka to celebrate halo-halo indigenous resistance. JOY = researcHER, healing arts i.e. dream power paddle-craft making and restorative rest. She can be reached at [email protected].
Arvian Heidir
Arvian joined NAPIESV from Silicon Valley, California. For almost 30 years, Arvian has been working in the tech industry, with over 20 years in software engineering and eight years in management. Most recently, Arvian led a group of software engineers working to improve developer experience and productivity at LinkedIn. In March of 2023, Arvian took a career break from the tech industry. During this time, Arvian was introduced to Nina Jusuf and learned about NAPIESV. Persuaded by its mission, in July 2023, Arvian joined NAPIESV to help end sexual violence, especially in the API community. Arvian can be reached at [email protected].
