Early Career Specialists

• Tell us about your current professional roles and activities.

I am a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist working at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, a pediatric hospital setting in Southern California. Pediatric neuropsychologists are licensed psychologists with expertise in assessment and consultation regarding neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents with comorbid neurological and congenital conditions. I personally specialize in working with children born with congenital heart disease (CHD) or who have survived cardiac arrests. On a national level, I currently hold leadership positions within the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative and Heartsight, in addition to serving as President-Elect of the Asian Neuropsychological Association.

• What do you enjoy most about your job?

While it requires much juggling, I enjoy the diversity of roles that come with my position! At my institution, I direct the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program and so I wear many hats: program director – overseeing program operations and development; clinician – conducting neuropsychological evaluations for children with CHD; supervisor – supervising cardiac neurodevelopmental rotations and didactic teaching for interns and fellows; and 4) researcher – overseeing our research study investigating neuropsychological outcomes in CHD. I love that my job is never boring and there’s always exciting progress to be made!

• What inspired you to get board certified?

I believe the specialty of psychology can continue to improve the quality of clinical services for patients and families and the diversification of providers from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. I was inspired to get board certified so that I could contribute to this improvement on an individual level – to be confident in the quality of my own clinical services and to personally add to the diversification of board-certified providers.  

• How has board certification contributed to your professional activities?

Throughout my early career, I have been mindful of the gaps in the promotion of brain health in culturally diverse and minority communities, in addition to the gaps in training and mentorship of students and trainees from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. Board certification has enhanced my ability to make national contributions related to these areas by opening up additional opportunities for service, leadership, and advocacy and adding impact to my efforts. 

• What advice would you give to psychologists or trainees interested in pursuing board certification?

It is much easier to achieve board certification if you can plan ahead, particularly in clinical neuropsychology! The pathway includes obtaining education during your doctoral studies and clinical experience at the externship and internship levels, in addition to a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship that is required for board certification in clinical neuropsychology. I would highlight APA’s Division 40 Society for Clinical Neuropsychology, as they have many helpful resources to support you along the way, including the Association of Neuropsychology Students and Trainees community, Early Career Neuropsychologist Committee community, and the Education Advisory Committee’s consultation program.

• How did you choose to specialize in Clinical Neuropsychology?

I became interested in the topic of pediatric neuropsychology from a young age. I watched my own relatives struggle to navigate the complexities of the behavioral health field, the neuropsychological assessment process, and the special education system for a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder while trying to overcome language barriers, acculturation difficulties, and cultural stigma towards mental illnesses. But it wasn’t until college that I discovered the field during a lecture in my psychology class, and I instantly knew it was what I wanted to pursue as a career. I love this field because I find the intersection of neuroanatomy and psychology fascinating. But most of all, I appreciate the opportunity to help families who are trying to understand their children and help them get all the supports that they need, and as an Asian American provider, to do so from a lens of reducing barriers and stigma for families from diverse backgrounds.

• In what ways does your work advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in your specialty?

I have focused my national contributions on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of clinical neuropsychology and supporting the training and leadership pathways for trainees and early career professionals from underrepresented backgrounds. Examples of my contributions in this area include supporting the early development of the Asian Neuropsychological Association and its efforts to improve competence in neuropsychological services provided to Asian individuals and develop the community of Asian neuropsychologists; co-founding KnowNeuropsychology (www.knowneuropsych.org), which supports students and professionals with limited didactic opportunities and has become one the most active source of open-access, high-quality didactic lectures in the field of psychology; and supporting the early development of New2Neuropsychology as an advisory board member, which has become one of the most impactful psychology outreach programs towards historically underrepresented students to date.