Hong Liu, Ph.D - Executive Director
Dr. Liu is the Executive Director of the Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA). She came to the U.S. in 1988 and received a Master’s degree in Political Science in 1989 and a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis in 1994 from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In the past 20 years, Dr. Liu has been working diligently toward improving health and quality of life for Asian populations. She is well recognized as an advocate and community leader locally and nationally in the public health and community health field. Dr. Liu is a member of several boards and advisory councils , including the State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) Council appointed by the Governor of Illinois, and the Chicago Community Development Advisory Council appointed by the Mayor of Chicago. She has received numerous awards for her dedication to public health, a few of which include the Public Health Advocacy Award from the Illinois Public Health Association; the Excellent Professional Award from Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White; and the Community Service Excellence Award from the Asian Coalition of Chicago and the Chinese American Association of Greater Chicago.
Eugene Chen, Ph.D. - Chief Finance Officer
Dr. Chen is currently CFO of the Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA). Having studied in the State University of New York at Albany, he earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1991. He became a CPA in Illinois as of 1998. From 1998 to 2016, he worked first as accounting manager, then as finance director, in the Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA). In 2016-2017, he was the financial consultant for the organization. He has much expertise in nonprofit accounting and management.
Allison M. Precht, MA, LPC, CADC - Director of Programs
Allison M. Precht, MA, LPC, CADC, joined MAHA as Director of Programs in December 2020. Allison is a motivated and passionate dual-master’s prepared community leader with 20+ years’ public health/human services experience promoting access to healthful living for diverse and underserved communities. Allison brings extensive research and program development experience at the local and national level. Prior to joining MAHA, Allison spent the last 16 years at a Cook County “one-stop” public safety-net outpatient center for the treatment, research, and prevention of infectious diseases. Allison received national recognition for her work implementing a Peer Patient Navigator model to enhance engagement and retention of HIV-Positive Women of Color in care. Allison serves as a member of the Malcolm X Community Health Worker Program Advisory Council and is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Addictions Counselor. She completed her clinical psychology training at Rush University Medical Center in its inpatient palliative care and hospice programs and outpatient individual and group-level bereavement counseling through Horizon Hospice and Palliative Care.
JiaYin (Melissa) Wee M.Ed. LCPC – Mental Health Clinical Manager
JiaYin (Melissa) Wee M.Ed. LCPC is the Mental Health Clinical Manager of MAHA Community Mental Health Clinic. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with a Master of Education in Community Mental Health Counseling from DePaul University. Born and raised in Malaysia, she has developed multicultural sensitivity and is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Bahasa Malaysia. She provides individual counseling, couple counseling and family counseling to Children, Adolescents and adults. Areas of expertise include mood management (anxiety, depression, anger, social anxiety, selective mutism), self-esteem issues, stress, and conflicts with family or partner.
Nina Ni Liu, M.D., Ph.D. - Psychiatrist
Nina Ni Liu, M.D., Ph.D. is MAHA's newest psychiatrist. She is also currently a Clinical Associate Professor at Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and a Senior Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Attending in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the Northshore University Health System, affiliated teaching hospital of the University of Chicago; Dr. Liu completed both her General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry training at the University of Chicago. She is a board member of Illinois Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Association (ICCAP), and a member of American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). She is also the President of American Mental Health Group (AMHG) whose aim is to promote mental health in China. She is also an active member of the University of Chicago’s Global Mental Health Initiative.
Dr. Liu finished her MD in 1989, Mater degree in Medicine in 1992, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in 1999. During her training as a post doc fellow at the University of Chicago she cloned a new gene and found its function in the anti- apoptosis of T memory cell. This founding was published in the world prestigious Journal of Nature Immunology and EMBO. She was then employed at the University of Chicago as an Assistant Professor before she pursued her career in psychiatry in 2006. Over the years, Dr. Liu has committed to the cultural and academic exchanges between China and US. She is invited to give lectures and training courses to the pediatricians and child psychiatrists in China very year. She is currently engaged in the behavioral vaccination of internet based intervention for Adolescent Depression in China. Her clinical interest includes depression, anxiety, psychosis and other mood disorder, as well as ADHD, and Autism spectrum disorder etc. She is actively in promoting Child Mental Health both in US and in China.
Andrew Piotrowski, M.A. – Health Programs Manager
Andrew joined MAHA in July 2021 under the newly created position of Health Programs Manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a master’s degree with a concentration on Community and Economic Development from Illinois State University. Andrew began his professional life as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador, where he gained first-hand experience in community organizing, as well as grant-writing for projects related to HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. He brings over 5 years of marketing and project management experience to MAHA in both for-profit and non-profit settings. His Spanish-language skills will also help expand MAHA’s services to the neighborhoods surrounding Chinatown, such as Pilsen and Little Village. Additionally, he serves as the President of the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association, a volunteer-led non-profit aimed at providing networking, community service events, and funding for Peace Corps projects organized by Chicago-area volunteers who are currently serving abroad.
Jonas Ginsburg - Mental Health Clinical Supervisor
Jonas Ginsburg works at MAHA as a Mental Health Clinical Supervisor to support the staff and interns in the provision of mental health services for our diverse and culturally rich communities in Chicago. Before joining MAHA, Jonas worked at Asian Human Services for approximately 10 years providing clinical management services and therapy for a largely immigrant population. While working in the field of healthcare, Jonas began developing short films and books as tools to provide meditative spaces for the general public and through presentations on topics related to art and healing.
Kelley Mui, Health Insurance Navigator Supervisor
Kelley is the supervisor of MAHA's Health Insurance Navigator program. She graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Physics and a minor in Asian Languages and Cultures. Kelley started as a volunteer at MAHA in 2015 and became a licensed health insurance navigator later that year. She provided enrollment assistance and health insurance education to consumers in Cantonese and Mandarin. During her past few years as a navigator, she has assisted thousands of consumers with getting health coverage. She was promoted to navigator team supervisor in 2017. As the supervisor, she provides training to navigators, creates outreach materials, and manages outreach events.
Cuihua Yang - Community Health Center Manager
Cuihua Yang is one of the first team members at MAHA. After joining MAHA in 2011, she dedicated herself to serving the Asian community. Currently, Ms. Yang is actively involved in several MAHA programs, including health screening and medical consultation, community vaccination events, and the Hepatitis B prevention program. She strives to provide each client a satisfactory experience at MAHA. Before Cuihua moved to the U.S. in early 2006, she was conducting managerial work in human resources and administration for 25 years in a well-known company in Shanghai, China.