PrYSM

Chanravy Proeung, Executive Director
chanravy@prysm.us

Chanravy has lived most of her life in Providence and is a graduate of Classical High School and Rhode Island College. She comes from a family of Cambodian refugees who escaped the devastation of the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam War. Her family was originally relocated to Mobile, Alabama, and through the years continued to relocate to Stockton, California before coming to Providence. An activist and community leader for many years, Chanravy has looked to her family’s experiences to give her the perspective needed to create change in the Providence Southeast Asian community. Before joining PrYSM, Chanravy used her degree in nursing to educate Southeast Asian Americans about public health issues. Providence is her home, and she loves her community.

Frances Choi, SOUL Program Director
franny@prysm.us

Frances Choi graduated from Brown University with a degree in Ethnic Studies and Literary Arts. At Brown, she served as a Minority Peer Counseling Friend and as an editor of Visions Asian American Literary Magazine. She has worked as a teacher and mentor with D’Abate Community School and Generation Citizen, an action-civics education program. A nationally recognized spoken word poet, Frances seeks to tell the stories of Asian America and incite change through her writing practice. Her play Mask Dances, which tells the story of the 1980 student demonstrations in South Korea, was produced at Rites and Reason Theater in 2011.

Kevin Lam, seaQuel Program Director
kevin@prysm.us

Kevin Lam is a graduate from the State University of New Paltz, NY with a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies and a minor in Theatre Arts. While attending college, Kevin was President of the Asian Student Association (ASA) and an organizer for Jam Asia. These organizations promoted cultural awareness and engaged with current issues within the Asian community. Kevin is passionate about empowering and gaining visibility for the LGBTQ Southeast Asian community, as well as bridging the generational gap. He hopes that with his passion for the arts he can use what he knows to contribute to change within the Providence community.