Joe Pangelinan
Reclaiming the “PI” in AAPI
“I know who I am, and that if I move around in the world, regardless of where I am, I will always be an Islander.”
Joe Pangelinans’ Audio Interview
To learn how Joe keeps “the Islands” close to his heart despite leaving the for the American Midwest, read his special feature.
This basketry from Joe’s home is typical of Pacific Islander craftsmanship.
Joe works as the Director of Team Engagement and Culture at WashU Medicine Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery.
Joe Pangelinan
Dr. Joseph Pangelinan grew up between the Chuuk Islands of the Federated States of Micronesia and Saipan in the nearby Northern Mariana Islands, territories which greatly influenced by Spanish, Japanese, and U.S. occupation over the years. After attending a Jesuit high school, he pursued Catholic-led higher education in Kansas. There he studied psychology, saw snowfall for the first time, and came to terms with the fact that “AAPI” is realistically mostly “Asian” in the U.S. A proud Islander who found his community online during COVID-19, Joe is director of cultural awareness and diversity and faculty at Washington University School of Medicine.