Thank you Sarav!

Our dear steering committee member Sarav Chidambaram recently stepped down from the steering committee. After more than four years of service, he will be sorely missed. Sarav is a fierce community activist involved in MassEquality, the Cambridge GLBT commission, and many more initiatives. We know he will continue to be a part of the QAPA community and we wish him the best!

Welcome Hung and Kathy!
QAPA welcomes two new steering committee member and community coordinators, Kathy and Hung Dinh! Kathy will be leading “QAPA Connect” - plugging you in to all the fun activities in Boston.

Hung is going to be our group facilitator extraodinaire, and will be leading the charge on “QAPA Speaks Out,” our latest discussion and safe space initiative.

Thanks guys for signing on for a year of craziness and lending us your time and passion. Welcome!

In his own words:

Hung Dinh was born in Vietnam and immigrated to The United States of America with his parents and brother at the age of 3. He came out at the age of 17 and never looked back. He identifies as a gay male who considers himself genderqueer in the sense that his gender identity and expression transcends the gender binary of the social construct of what defines a male or a female. He grew up in Connecticut, has recently relocated to Boston, and currently looking for employment in the social services/non-profit sector.

Hung Dinh is an alumnus of the University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, receiving a Master’s in Social Work. His concentration is in Groupwork with a substantive area of focus in Social Work with Women and Children in Families. During his time there he was the chair of the PRIDE committee where he advocated and brought awareness to LGBT issues to the school. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut, majoring in Urban and Community Studies with a minor in Sociology.

Hung draws influence for QAPA’s upcoming Speak Out discussion group from his experiences growing up a gay Asian and having a gender identity that does not conform to social norms and experiencing a lack of community within the Queer Asian community. There is potential to bring about mutual support and empowerment when marginalized and disenfranchised groups can come together to discuss issues and topics that are relevant to our lives and experiences and work through this as a community.