Dr. Wayne Silao Jopanda is an Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies within the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at San José State University. He received his PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of California, Davis, where he researched Filipino student experiences with burn out, labor trafficked Filipino teachers, and both cases' connections to the history of U.S. colonial education in the Philippines. Wayne's research also engages men of color mental health and liberated/healing masculinities, the impact of pop culture and anime on U.S. based men of color, the experiences of students of color and first-generation college students in higher education, and the growing role of talk story/kuwentuhan in Ethnic Studies curriculum, spaces, and community organizing. He is a co-founder and Associate Director of the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies, a grassroots national community engaged Filipino Studies research center. Wayne is also the founder of the Brokada Filipino Men’s Healing Collective, a community driven bimonthly healing circle that is committed to holding space for mental health and healed liberated masculinity within communities of color. He is proud to serve as the Director of Scholarships for the Filipino Alumni Network of SJSU and is also a selection committee member for the upcoming SJSU Filipino History Mural.