Last year reminded us that activism, scholarship, and community work are sustained not only through the struggle but also through healing, connection, and collective joy. It was a poignant reminder that liberation is not an endpoint, but an ongoing process nourished by our relationships, resilience, and shared humanity within our communities. We came together to create a space to not only acknowledge our shared struggles but also to celebrate and feel joy despite the ongoing hardships in our increasingly challenging environment.

Building on this foundation, this year’s theme, “Envisioning Radical Futures Within & Outside Asian American Psychology,” invites us to move beyond sustaining ourselves within existing systems to imagine and create new possibilities altogether. If resistance and joy help us endure and transform the present, radical futures ask us to dream beyond it and to consider what liberation could look like when structural inequities are dismantled and our communities thrive.

Envisioning radical futures requires critical reflection and courageous imagination. It calls us to reimagine psychological science, mental health care, education, and community systems in ways that center cultural wisdom, lived experience, and collective well-being. Radical futures are not distant ideals; they are built through the practices, knowledge, and resilience already present within our communities.

This year’s theme encourages scholars, clinicians, activists, and community leaders to share work that pushes boundaries, challenges dominant narratives, and opens pathways toward more just and equitable futures. Interdisciplinary collaboration, culturally grounded approaches, and community-engaged scholarship are especially welcome as we collectively engage in imagining what becomes possible when healing, justice, and belonging are fully realized.

Dr. Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the City University of New York. He is one of the leading researchers examining the impacts of microaggressions—subtle forms of discrimination—on the mental and physical health of people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, and other marginalized communities. Dr. Nadal has published over 100 scholarly works on multicultural issues in psychology and education. He is the author of 14 books, including Filipino American Psychology (Wiley, 2021), Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress (American Psychological Association, 2018), and Queering Law and Order (Lexington Books, 2020). He made history as the first and only openly gay President of the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) in the organization’s 50-year history and as the first person of color to serve as Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ Studies in its 25-year history. He currently serves as President of the Filipino American National Historical Society—the youngest individual and the first to openly identify as LGBTQ+ to hold the position. Dr. Nadal is also a co-founder of the LGBTQ+ Scholars of Color National Network, the AAPA Division on Filipinx Americans, and the AAPA Division on LGBTQQ+. He has delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, including presentations at the White House and the U.S. Capitol. His many honors include the American Psychological Association’s 2017 Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, the 2019 Richard Tewksbury Award from the Western Society of Criminology, the 2019 Thought Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the 2022 Teachers College Medal for Distinguished Service.

Derald Wing Sue is Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. He was the co-founder and first President of the Asian American Psychological Association, co-founder of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, past presidents of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (Division 45), and the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17).  Derald has served as Editor or Associate Editor of many professional journals, including the American Psychologist, Asian American Journal of Psychology, The Counseling Psychologist, and the Personnel and Guidance Journal. 

Derald is a pioneer in the field of multicultural psychology, microaggression/microintervention theory, racial dialogues, multicultural counseling and therapy, and the psychology of racism/antiracism.  He is author of 23 books and over 200 scholarly publications.  His services have been widely sought by many groups and organizations. Derald is the recipient of many honors and awards. In 2019, he received the American Psychological Association’s highest honor; Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award. He has also done extensive cultural diversity training for many Fortune 500 companies, institutions of higher education, governmental agencies, public schools, and mental health organizations.  His current research and work focus on “microintervention strategies to disarm and dismantle racism and bias. He is currently working on a new book, Breaking the Deadly Dance of Racism: Perpetrators, Targets, Allies and Bystanders, to be published in 2026.

As evidence of Dr. Sue’s stature in the field, two studies of multicultural publications and scholars concluded, “Impressively, Derald Wing Sue is without doubt the most influential multicultural scholar in the United States today.”

Reflecting on the organization’s origins and evolution, Dr. Sue will share personal insights on the founding of AAPA with his brother, Dr. Stanley Sue, and their journey in shaping it into a leading and influential voice in psychology. In dialogue with Dr. Kevin Nadal (moderator), Dr. Sue will examine the development of Asian American psychology as a field, the role of AAPA in advancing scholarship and advocacy, and the ways shifting political climates continue to shape the lived experiences of Asian American communities. The conversation will bridge the past and the present, offering critical reflections on institutional growth, community responsibility, and the field’s future directions. Designed as an intergenerational exchange, this plenary invites attendees to engage with foundational history while considering the ongoing challenges and opportunities facing Asian American psychology today.

We are honored to host a conversation with the Ethnic Psychological Associations (EPA) Presidents (National Latinx Psychological Association, Association of Black Psychologists, American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association, and the Society of Indian Psychologists). Bringing together leaders across these organizations, this plenary creates a rare space for inter-organizational dialogue grounded in shared commitments to social justice and community accountability. Panelists will reflect on how their organizations are navigating the current sociopolitical climate and advancing social justice through scholarship, advocacy, and community engagement. Centering cross-racial solidarity, the conversation will explore both the possibilities and challenges of building sustained coalitions across communities of color, while inviting attendees to consider the future of collective action and liberation in psychology.

Dr. Grace S. Kim is a Clinical Professor in the Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development department at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Trained in clinical psychology, Dr. Kim’s research has two interconnected foci. First, she explores how to teach diversity and social justice effectively, and how to train future professionals to be more culturally humble and responsive. Second, she conducts research on Asian American psychology, focusing on resilience and mental health, struggles for liberation and resistance to oppression, social agency, and solidarity with other marginalized groups. She co-authored two books, Unraveling Assumptions: A Primer for Understanding Oppression and Privilege (Routledge, 2022), and Teaching Diversity Relationally: Engaging Emotions and Embracing Possibilities (Routledge, 2022). She is currently working on a third co-authored book, Foundations of Asian American Psychology: A Feminist, Anti-racist Perspective, which is under contract with Cambridge University Press. She holds a Fellow status in the American Psychological Association (Divisions 35 & 45) and the Asian American Psychological Association. An experienced leader in the field, Dr. Kim has held various leadership positions in AAPA (board member, convention co-chair, leadership fellows program co-chair), and APA Divisions 45 (APA convention program co-chair) and 35 (president, 2024-2025). She is passionate about teaching and training future psychologists and finds joy in conversations with students in and outside of classroom. Her research and teaching excellence was recognized through the 2023 Boston University Provost’s Scholar-Teacher of the Year award.