Gem Daus, MA

Bio

Gem P. Daus is an award-winning adjunct faculty member of the University of Maryland Asian American Studies Program. His classes are interdisciplinary and emphasize public policy as it intersects with community building and identity. He teaches Filipino American History and Biography, and has also taught Asian American Health and Asian American Sexualities. Gem has published several book chapters as well as numerous policy papers on Asian American and Pacific Islander health.
Gem has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and public, from direct service, to program management, to executive leadership. He has worked for the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), and the American Red Cross. He has led local-national partnerships for improving access to quality health care and increased research for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He was a community liaison to the White House Initiative of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI). He worked on the legislation that eventually led to the formation of the Asian American & Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) designation within the Department of Education. He has also facilitated strategic planning and board development for community-based organizations, including local health clinics and human service providers.
Gem was born in Baguio City, Philippines and completed grade school in Norfolk, Virginia. He completed a BA in History at the University of Virginia and an MA in Organization Development at Marymount University. In his spare time, he volunteers on several boards and dances hula with Halau Nohona Hawaii.

Education

BA, History, University of Virginia
MA, Organization Development, Marymount University

Research and Publications

Logan, R.A., W.F. Wong, M. Villaire, G. Daus, T.A. Parnell, E. Willis, and M.K. Paasche-Orlow, 2015. Health literacy: A necessary element for achieving health equity. Discussion Paper, Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC. http://www.nam.edu/perspectives/2015/Health-literacy-anecessary-element-for-achieving-health-equity.

Daus, Gem P. “How Did I Get Here?” In Filipino American Psychology: Personal Narratives, edited by Kevin Nadal, 29-36. Bloomington, IN: Author House, 2010.

Daus, Gem P. “Diaspora and Settlement.” In Praeger Handbook of Asian American Health: Taking Notice and Taking Action, edited by William Bateman, Noilyn Abesamis-Mendoza and Henrietta Ho-Asjoe, 537-574. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2009.

Ma, Grace X. and Gem P. Daus. “Health Interventions.” In Asian American Communities and Health: Context, Research, Policy and Action, edited by Chau Trinh-Shevrin, Nadia Shilpi Islam and Mariano Jose Rey, 443-463. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Courses

AST398D/AMST328J Filipino American History & Biography
AAST498E/LGBT448E Asian American Sexualities
AAST498O Asian American Health
AAST498Q Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Studies