Xinwei Zhang, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Xinwei Zhang is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the CHamP Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University. Xinwei obtained her master’s degree in Psychology from New York University and her Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education from Lehigh University. Xinwei worked as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Child Study Center and Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine prior to joining Teachers College. Xinwei is committed to advancing education, mental health, and racial justice among Asian immigrant and Asian American communities. Her research interests encompass understanding acculturation, experiences of racial discrimination, parental racial and ethnic socialization, education, and well-being among Asian immigrant and Asian American youth and families. Xinwei also actively works towards improving education, employment, healthcare, immigration, and mental health services at non-profit organizations like the Chinese-American Planning Council and International Rescue Committee. 

Cindy J. Huang

doctoral student

Cindy is a fifth-year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College and her B.A. with high honors in Psychology from University of California, Davis. She also has a single subject English teaching credential and a master’s degree in Education from University of California, Berkeley. Prior to attending TC, she was a 12th grade teacher for newcomer immigrant students in San Francisco. Her research interests focus on the impact of parent-child relationships, parenting behaviors, and parent-child communication on Asian American youth and Asian immigrant families. She speaks Cantonese and Taishanese (a Chinese dialect). Cindy is currently completing her clinical internship at Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles (CHLA). In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, hiking, and watching Korean dramas.

Daniella Lucio

doctoral student

Daniella is a third-year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Loyola Marymount University. Prior to attending TC, she worked as a research coordinator at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Her research interests focus on examining risk and protective factors impacting mental health outcomes for minority youth and families, and how to translate that into culturally-competent, family-centered prevention efforts. She is bilingual in Spanish and English, and in her free time enjoys dancing, walking by the water, and reading fiction novels.

Haiwei Liu

Community partner coordinator

Haiwei holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in developmental psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include understanding the reciprocal relationship in the family during cultural adaptation. She aims to identify interventions and strategies that enhance the well-being of parents and children in bicultural or multicultural environments, focusing on cultural adaptation, self-regulation, and resilience. She speaks in Mandarin. Haiwei enjoys exercising, cooking, and exploring the city with friends in her free time.

Chen Zou

Project coordinator

Chen is a project coordinator for the FCU-AA project in the CHamP lab at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Mount Holyoke College. Her research interests broadly focus on exploring how environmental factors, such as familial, cultural, and societal influences, shape individuals' emotional development. She's particularly interested in the role that parents and families play in protecting children who experience adversity and promoting their well-being. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and watching musicals.

Silvia Alves Nishioka, Ph.D.

Silvia graduated from the Counseling Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University in 2022, where she also received her master's degree in Clinical Psychology. As a psychologist in Brazil, she specialized in Health Psychology and worked as a psychologist in a pediatric hospital. Her research focuses on: evaluation, implementation, and adaptation of prevention interventions for diverse children, adolescents, and families in community settings. Among her personal interests, she enjoys speaking and learning other languages, such as French and Spanish. Silvia is currently a staff child psychologist at New York Presbyterian in New York, NY, where she is also engaged in school-based evaluation research.

Emily Hunt, Ph.D.

Emily graduated from the Counseling Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University in 2023. She earned her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Theater from Wesleyan University. Her research interests focus on both physical and psychological barriers faced by Asian-American individuals and families when it comes to seeking mental health services, racial identity development in multiracial individuals, and sexuality and its impact on emotional well-being. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, theater, walking her dog, and teaching fitness classes. Emily completed her clinical internship in the adolescent mental health track at the UCSF/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford Children’s Hospital.