ADAPT Looks Back to Leverage Community and Research for the Future

Shifting socio-political landscapes remind us that local leaders and organizations have always worked in the face of adversity to build healthy, futures for our neighborhoods. To uplift these stories, the ADAPT coalition hosted its 9th Annual ADAPT Community Health Symposium, “Rooted in Resilience: Looking Back to Look Forward,” in Boston on October 3, 2025. Nearly 70 community leaders, researchers, and clinicians convened to discuss past and present examples of community resilience and advocacy.

 

Looking Back: Grassroots Movement Building. Moderator Angie Liou (Executive Director, Asian Community Development Corporation) opened the discussion with ACDC’s history of creating and preserving affordable housing in Chinatown. Local community leaders and change agents, Jean Wu, PhD, Michael Liu, PhD, Leverett Wing, and Sothea Chiemruom, shared success stories from past coalition movements statewide. These movements built visibility for Asian American communities and enabled collective action in politics, academia, and public health.

 

Looking Forward: Innovative Strategies. Co-moderator Ben Hires (CEO, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center) shared BCNC’s origins in community advocacy and its responsiveness to local needs like problem gambling and gaps in mental health care. Co-moderator Alice Tang, PhD (Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine) underscored the importance of communityengaged research and trust-building. Multidisciplinary panelists Pata Suyemoto, PhD, Cindy Liu, PhD, Wilson Cole, PhD, and Rev. Dieufort Fleurissaint, DMin, MDiv, ThM, shared challenges impacting their work and communities and what resilience looks like in response. ADAPT aims to carry these lessons forward as our partners engage in a variety of priority areas, including data equity, mental health, environmental justice, women’s health, language justice, and more.