Our Team

Picture of Elaine Peng

Phone: 1(800)881-8502

Elaine Peng

Founder  / Executive Director

  • Profile

    Elaine Peng worked as a Chinese teacher for more than 10 years, but since 2013, she has been a dedicated mental health advocate and educator providing education to reduce public prejudice against mental illness, as well as decreasing stigma among caregivers. She has started five Chinese support groups and developed the first NAMI Chinese website www.namichinese.org in the United States. Elaine is a leader and developer of multiple mental health programs for the Chinese community. As a consumer and family member, she helps to promote mental health services and provide peer support to the underserved Chinese community.Her only purpose was to help those who desperately need help; hoping that through programs what the MHACC provide, they do not have to experience the despair she went through. She was the recipient of the 2016 NAMI National's Multicultural Outreach Award, and the 2017 NAMI California's Multicultural Outreach Award.

  • Other Qualifications & Memberships

    • NAMI Family To Family Class Teacher/State Teacher Trainer
    • NAMI Family Support Group Facilitator/State Trainer
    • NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group Facilitator
    • NAMI Peer to Peer Mentor
    • NAMI Basics Class Teacher
    • NAMI IOOV Presenter
    • NAMI California Mental Health 101 Program Presenter
    • Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®) Facilitator
    • Member of the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee (CLCC) of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)
    • Alameda County Mental Health Services Act(MHSA) Stakeholder Group member
    • 10x10 Wellness for Alameda County Advisory Board Member
    • Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services(PEERS) Chinese American Action Team Member
    • San Mateo County Chinese Health Initiative(CHI) Member
    • Kaiser Permanente Behavioral Health Patient Advisory Council Member 

Carole Wang

Co-Founder


Carole has been dedicated to serving the Chinese community’s mental health needs for over 5 years through her work at MHACC. She is experienced in helping people successfully navigate the legal and healthcare systems following traumatic experiences and steps up as an advocate when they face cultural bias. She also has 40 years of business experience from running her own fashion design company since 1981.


Carole leverages her creativity, business acumen, and personal experiences as a peer and caregiver to aid people with mental health challenges. She is always there to provide support for staff and volunteers as well.


Other Qualifications:

Duke University Non-Profit Management Certificate

Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist

Certified Lay Counselor

NAMI Family-to-Family Teacher

Family Support Group Facilitator

Connections Support Group Facilitator

Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®) Facilitator
Mental Health First Aid®(MHFA®) certification
Honest, Open, Proud (HOP) Facilitator
SAMHSA and FEMA crisis counseling training

Steven Chen

Deputy Director


Steven Chen first joined MHACC in Feb 2021 as a project coordinator to oversee the development of two mental health apps, MiSunshine and UrSpace. Later, he worked on several other ongoing grant-related projects and helped with internal operations. In early 2022, he helped apply for and secure the Stop the Hate grant for MHACC. In May of 2022, Steven become the Deputy Director of MHACC while continuing to focus on grants and internal operations.


Mr. Chen comes with twenty years of private sector experience managing large projects as an IT professional. He is also active in serving the Chinese American community. It is his passion to write articles about Chinese American history and the fight for social justice today. Over the years, he cooperated with Asian American organizations nationwide. His dedication and skill have been invaluable to MHACC.

Jet Liu

Deputy Director 

Jet Liu is a journalist with more than 17 years of reporting experience covering Chinese American communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining MHACC, he worked at the World Journal San Francisco Bureau, where he extensively reported on issues affecting Oakland Chinatown and the broader East Bay, including community safety, housing, public policy, and mental health.


Over the years, Jet has covered numerous community events, policy discussions, and mental health forums, interviewing government officials, community leaders, and advocates. His reporting helped amplify the voices of underserved Chinese immigrant communities and brought greater public attention to issues such as mental health awareness and community well-being.


At MHACC, Jet focuses on public affairs, media outreach, and community engagement, helping strengthen connections between MHACC, Chinese-language media, and the Chinese American community while promoting culturally responsive mental health services.

Regina Wang

Technical Director


Regina has earned a Master’s degree in Computer Science, published research internationally, and won awards for her technical work. She was a dedicated volunteer in MHACC for many years before becoming technical director, where she now devotes her training in technology to support MHACC’s growth.


In addition to her technical skills, she has many years of experience helping run a family business in the fashion industry where she worked on everything from designing to marketing to accounting. She has brought this versatility to MHACC where she has branched out into grant writing and management.


At age 16 she suffered a traumatic brain injury due to being hit by a tree while volunteering as a camp counselor. Because of her personal experiences, she is deeply passionate about mental health and has worked as a crisis counselor. 


Qualifications:

Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist

Certified Lay Counselor

NAMI Peer to Peer Mentor
SAMHSA and FEMA crisis counseling training

Cami Liao

Communication Director


Cami Liao joined MHACC in early 2022 and supports a range of community initiatives, including NAMI and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings, MHACC’s mental health mobile apps, and Warmline training curriculum development.


With a background in writing and video production, she leads MHACC’s storytelling and communications—editing the biweekly newsletter, WeChat official account, blogs, and website content, and creating campaign materials that help make mental health resources more approachable.


As someone with lived experience as both a family member and consumer in mental health crises, and with a background in healthcare, Cami is committed to expanding mental health education, awareness, and stigma reduction in the Chinese community—helping people feel less alone and better supported.


Qualifications:

Certified Lay Counselor

NAMI Peer-to-Peer Mentor

NAMI Family-to-Family Teacher

Mental Health First Aid® (MHFA®) Instructor

Peer Support Specialist (Graduate)