In the US and Thailand, she has taught multicultural competence development, qualitative methods of research, and intellectual assessment.
She is passionate about working with individuals from various cultural groups, honoring their unique ways of healing and growing, especially after trauma and major life crises (posttraumatic growth).
She has published articles and book chapters on the topic of resilience among marginalized and underrepresented populations, including injection drug users, patients with co-occurring disorders, new immigrants, and Southeast Asian immigrants.
Originally from Southeast Asia (Thailand), Jill has several on-going projects collaborating with professionals in Thailand, Cambodia, and India to expand and deepen psychological knowledge in the context of these cultures.
She is excited to apply this line of research in the Vietnamese context to learn how Vietnamese people perceive healing and growth after trauma or life crises and how to foster that growth in practice. Jill is also a registered yoga instructor and interested in using holistic, mind-body integration as part of therapy and self-healing.
Jill speaks Thai, English, and a tiny bit of Mandarin, and is determined to learn Vietnamese as fast as possible. In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors with her husband and two young children.
“I’m very humbled by the opportunity to join Fulbright. I see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of the founding team to build a well-rounded and holistic university with student development at the very center.
Vietnam has witnessed so much growth for the past few decades and has had global impacts in many significant ways. Vietnam’s new generations are going to be the most important force in generating and sustaining the country’s growth; therefore, the health and well-being of students is of paramount importance.
I’m looking forward to working with Fulbright (students, faculty, and staff) in developing healthy, resilient, and multi-culturally equipped students as they develop a career path that is meaningful to them and impactful for Vietnam as a whole”.
