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About Us

One expert is helpful,
A collective— Ignites Innovation|

About Us
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Our Vision

Create thriving Asian American communities free from the devastation of diabetes

Our Values

Community

Navigating diabetes can be lonely. Building a community to support Asian Americans is essential — Let’s walk through this journey together.

Credibility

Trusted by the community, powered by collaboration. Information presented is evidence-based and reviewed by members of our collaborative network.

Creativity

Making complicated diabetes related information simple, engaging, and actionable is our creative passion, driven by beautiful, innovative design.

Our
Mission

To be the trusted diabetes resource hub for Asian Americans — tailored resources rooted in culture, powered by science, and delivered with empathy.

Journey so far

The inception of the Asian Diabetes Wellness Collective (ADWC) traces back to the vision of its founder, Tam, a nurse whose Dad had diabetes and few useful resources to turn to. As a nursing professor and researcher, she understood early on that creating useful resources requires patient and community engagement as well as multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Our journey began modestly, starting with a small team-building grant, and has blossomed into a community-wide movement.

Milestones in our journey

BC Research Incentive Grant

Seed grant to adapt, translate, and pilot DPP with Vietnamese Americans

May
2014
May
2014

BC Research Incentive Grant

Seed grant to adapt, translate, and pilot DPP with Vietnamese Americans

PCORI Pipeline-to-Proposal Grant

Built our first advisory board of patients, providers, and community leaders

Jun
2015
Jun
2015

PCORI Pipeline-to-Proposal Grant

Built our first advisory board of patients, providers, and community leaders

Joslin AADI Partnership

Began working with AADI on Ginger Gala

Nov
2016
Nov
2016

Joslin AADI Partnership

Began working with AADI on Ginger Gala

Gordon & Betty Irene Moore Fellowship

Innovation training and resources to build ADWC

Jul
2022
Jul
2022

Gordon & Betty Irene Moore Fellowship

Innovation training and resources to build ADWC

CDC Grant

Large scale implementation grant to expand DPP & DSMES

May
2025
May
2025

CDC Grant

Large scale implementation grant to expand DPP & DSMES

Our Collective Partners

Partner organizations share knowledge and resources.

In Spotlight

QARI

Partner

QARI (Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.) is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the social, cultural, economic, and civic lives of Asian immigrants and their families through culturally competent services including workforce development, youth programs, and community health initiatives. It fosters immigrant empowerment and community well-being in Quincy and neighbouring areas.

Visit Website

Partners & Funders

Connell School of Nursing

Partner
Visit Website

Joslin Asian American Diabetes Initiative

Partner
Visit Website

Enhance Asian Community on Health

Partner
Visit Website

The Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts

Partner
Visit Website

South Cove Community Health Center

Partner
Visit Website

Massachusetts Diabetes Network

Partner
Visit Website

The Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators program

Funder
Visit Website

The Minds Behind the Mission

A cross functional team of experts helping the collective thrive
and drive change within the community

Core Team

Tam Nguyen

Tam Nguyen

Founder

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Quynh Tu

Quynh Tu

Communication & Operation

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Sunand Bhattacharya

Sunand Bhattacharya

Lead Design Strategist

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Emma Smirl

Emma Smirl

Project Coordinator

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Strategic Advisors

Anna Nguyen

Anna Nguyen

Registered Nurse / Patient Community Engagement Champion / Nurse Researcher

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Chihiro Sato

Chihiro Sato

Community Leader/Patient Advocate/Patient Community Engagement Champion

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George King

George King

Professor of Medicine and Ophthalmology

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Karen Lau

Karen Lau

Registered Dietitian

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Michael See

Michael See

CDCES

Philip Chong

Philip Chong

Community Leader

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Rachael Acker

Rachael Acker

Designer and Solution Architect

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Rachel Lee

Rachel Lee

Registered Dietitian / Community Leader

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Tran Nguyen Pham

Tran Nguyen Pham

Patient Advocate

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Tu-Mai Tran

Tu-Mai Tran

Primary Care Provider

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Yuheng Ruan

Yuheng Ruan

Primary Care Provider

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Student Interns & Past supporting members

Designed for people diagnosed with diabetes to gain the skills to manage the disease with confidence. Shorter-term workshops to master blood sugar tracking, medication use, complication prevention, and peer Q&A.

View All Students

Become a part of
the collective

Interested in becoming a technical advisor, student intern, or organizational partner? Connect with us to see how we can work together.
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Student Interns
Cherry Tran
Project Co-ordiantors
2023-24
Zoha Aziz
Student Intern
2025-26
Isabella Allen
Student Intern
2025-26
Andrew Nguyen
Student Intern
2025-26