Kelly Ha

Kelly Ha (she/her/hers) is a licensed social worker and the co-founder of the #IAmNotAVirus campaign, an anti-Asian discrimination and racism awareness movement which came to fruition during the rise of COVID when multiple members of the AAPI community were being targeted. Since then, the campaign received global recognition, created a mental health workbook in collaboration with the UConn AASI department, provided training in corporate and educational settings, hosted a BIPOC book drive to increase literacy and representation in Connecticut school systems, and featured in the Hartford Courant with shoutout from the United States Secretary of Education. Kelly worked on the Make Us Visible movement which made Connecticut the first state in the country to include AAPI studies in the public school systems with overwhelming bipartisan support. Kelly is also the recipient of the 100 Women of Color award and Hartford’s Finest. Recently, Kelly spoke on the panel for the 2022 Regional Summit on Innovation & Inclusion through the AA & NHPI Lens as part of the White House Initiative. Kelly is the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, whose grandfather was a POW in the Vietnam War. Her work is a homage to her family who has sacrificed so much for her. Her goal is to continue to make mental health resources accessible to BIPOC populations and continue the mission of destigmatizing mental health in the AAPI community.