Interns

Siena Iwasaki Milbauer is proud to be a queer, multiracial, and Asian-American woman. A Minneapolis native, Siena is currently a student based in New York City pursuing a degree in Ethnicity & Race Studies. Siena loves how being part of the AAOP team gives her endless opportunities to exercise her passion for using art and narrative to increase representation and illuminate truth, whether through blog-writing, podcasting, or social media content creation. Outside of work, Siena enjoys reading, jamming out to some K-pop, and baking pumpkin bread and molasses cookies (among other yummy treats!). She was part of the Gender Justice Research Cohort in 2020.

Yoko is a Hmong-American writer with a background in journalism. She has strong values in storytelling as it is a way to bring people and communities together. As the audio storyteller intern, she hopes to continue learning from community members and share impactful stories. In her free time, she enjoys trying new desserts and traveling.

As the social media intern, Jun is interested in exploring digital connections and aesthetic feeds. The base of her hierarchy of needs consists of fashion, music, long naps, and horror.

Vanessa is East African, born in Uganda, immigrated to Texas, and recently moved to Minnesota. She is passionate about empowering women that are marginalized along class and race lines, this includes but is not limited to movements around sex worker’s rights, radical self-compassion, and cultivating healing and restorative spaces. Vanessa looks forward to growing as a listener and connector. She loves gardening and dancing.

Anh is a first generation Vietnamese student who is studying at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Youth Studies and minoring in Asian American Studies and Public Health. She is joining AAOP as one of the Reproductive Facilitators! Something Anh is super passionate about is making food that fuels your soul as well as the conversations and community building that comes with it! For Anh, food is more than just food, it is an instigator for many great conversations about the world like food insecurity, reproductive health, and social stigmas for young people. Anh looks forward to many forms of storytelling and sharing! She wants to create a safe space for people to speak their truth as much as possible!

Beryl is one of the Abortion Support Research Fellows for AAOP this summer. They have previously been involved with the Asian American Student Union of Minnesota, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, and the Midwest APIDA Students Union. In addition to gender and reproductive justice, they are passionate about mental health advocacy, climate activism, and LGTBQIA+ rights.

Unitas is a student at Macalester College. He previously worked with AAOP in the summer of 2020 as part of their GJ Research Cohort, and in 2021 as a RJ PAR Fellow. Unitas is looking to build on what he’s already learned. In his free time, he likes to play Pokemon, write, and draw.

Gao is a first-generation Hmong American student pursuing a master’s in Public Health with a great desire to conduct research. One of her long-term goals is to become more involved in Asian and LGBQ+ communities, particularly through reconnecting with and learning from her Hmong community. She is excited to be a part of the AAOP as an Abortion Support Research Fellow, assisting with the participatory action research (PAR) project that involves Minnesota Asians and LGBTQ+ community members. In her spare time, she enjoys watching anime, engaging in self-care activities such as skincare, and spending time with family and friends.