Moving Forward
Together, We Make A Stronger Community
Who We Are
Hlub Hmong Center (HHC), reflects our love and passion for the Hmong community.
Since 2010, HHC has emerged as a leading Hmong advocacy organization using culturally-driven methods to tackle social justice disparities. We are respected for our approach that connects the strengths of both public institutions and Hmong culture. Hmong lay-leaders facilitate institutional systems changes and family cultural changes.
HHC was previously called Project Prevention and was launched in May 2010 following the first-ever San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Hmong Health Disparities Conference sponsored by the Hmong Health Collaborative and UC Merced. Disastrous, unethical disparities shared in each presentation mobilized our community-academic partnership to action. While disparities were not new; they have remained unaddressed for decades. Before 2014, our work was service-focused to increase access to healthcare through cultural and linguistic brokering. Early 2014, our leadership team formally reflected on how to maximize impact and two aims emerged: policy and systems change in public-serving institutions and creation of a Merced Hmong Cultural Center. These aims are designed to increase equity and prosperity for the Hmong, and our broader community. United Way of Merced County (UWMC) has been our fiscal sponsor since 2011.
Meet The Team
Stacey Chang,
Community Engagement Coordinator
Khi Moua
Program Assistant Coordinator
Sia Vue
Bilingual-Bicultural Administrative Assistant
Sia is responsible for all HHC office management and administration which includes file and document management, team management and scheduling, human resources and bookkeeping. Sia has resided in Merced since 2017. She is active in her family clan (Thao, one of the largest in Merced) with excellent Hmong linguistic and cultural competency critical to HHC's success.
Jennifer Xiong, MPH, CHES
Co-Founder
Jennifer is a founding member and a trusted Hmong leader in Merced. She grew up in Merced, graduated from UC Davis (baccalaureate) and UCLA (MPH). She has over 12 years of experience in programming developed through Hmong values, customs, and language. She has been active in systems change advocacy and developing Hmong leaders in systems change advocacy. Jennifer is the lead manager for HHC programs and oversees mobilizations Hmong voice, presence, and advocacy in decisions by public institutions related to racial/ethnic and linguistic equity.
Stergios (Steve) Roussos, PhD, MPH
Co-Founder, Co-Director
Steve is a HHC founding member with nearly 30 years of expertise in academic and community-based research and education in public health and community development focused on social and environmental justice. He is a Greek immigrant and first-generation college and graduate school student. He completed his MPH at GSPH SDSU in 1995 and his PhD at the University of Kansas in 2002. Steve has lived in Merced since 2001 as a community-based public health researcher with adjunct and affiliate positions in the UC and CSU systems. He has been an active and trusted partner within the Hmong community in Merced and Hmong advocacy initiatives for over 20 years.
Linda Xiong, MPH, CHES
Co-Founder, Co-Director
Linda is a founding member of HHC with over 15 years of expertise in community-based projects to address health disparities. She grew up in Merced, graduated with Bachelors in Human Development from UC Davis and completed her MPH at San Diego State University. She has over 15 years of direct work experience in community and systems change with HHC and other Hmong and partners organizations.