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In honor of Filipino American History Month our guests are two professors from the University of Alaska Anchorage: Drs. EJR David and Gabriel Garcia. This past session House Bill 23 sponsored by Representative Genevieve Mina passed the Alaska legislature unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Dunleavy. This bill makes October officially Filipino American History Month. So today we will be talking about Filipinos in Alaska; our guests are both PhDs, both born in the Philippines, and both immigrated to Alaska as children.

Dr. Gabriel Garcia is a professor of Public Health at the University of Alaska Anchorage and is the coordinator of UAA’s Master of Public Health Program. His research highlighted health disparities in Filipino fish processing plant workers in Dutch Harbor. We will also be discussing his current research about the potential resiliency that can be gained from ethnic studies programs. 

Dr. E.J. R. David is a professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage. His primary duties are with the PhD program in clinical community psychology with a rural, cultural, and indigenous emphasis. He has published four books. The first three are academic works about internalized oppression and the colonial mentality.  His fourth is a memoir titled, We Have Not Stopped Trembling Yet: Letters to my Filipino Athabaskan Family.

Rep. Genevieve Mina is the second Filipino woman elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. She represents East Anchorage (Airport Heights, Mountain View, and Russian Jack neighborhoods).