Where We Came From

Born during the Vietnam War, Mai Zong knew of only war and not peace.  Mai Zong grew up in the refugee camps in Thailand for five years.  Arriving as a Hmong teenage refugee, Mai Zong became the family interpreter and system navigator as she quickly learned English.  Throughout high school and college, Mai Zong became a community organizer and advocate.  In 1992, Mai Zong came to work for the Wisconsin State Refugee Office and currently works at the Department of Health Services.

Mai Zong’s passion to seek social justice and equitable services started from being a grass-root organizer and advocate to decision-making roles at local community, state and national government levels. She has 35 years of experience in areas of: refugee community advocacy and training; culturally competent program and policy development; community liaison; non-profit and professional development; women and youth development; refugee and mental health policy and analytic skills; contract administration; Hmong studies development; and a huge network of underserved provider, community, and government relationships. Notable efforts include Refugee Women’s Network in GA, statewide Refugee Family Strengthening Programs, Hmong studies faculty positions at UW-Madison, Hmong and refugee mental health initiatives in Wisconsin, and Hmong Language and Cultural Enrichment Program.

In 2018, Mai Zong and Peng Her launched The Hmong Institute to put all their community efforts under one roof and focus on community capacity building that includes Hmong cultural heritage education, training, and preservation and culturally competent behavioral health services.  As co-founder and board president of The Hmong Institute, Mai Zong’s commitment to her new home is to ensure that Hmong children grow up to be productive citizens, not a liability to society.  She believes that prevention is cheaper than intervention, especially for her young Hmong community. As a community organizer, Peng believes in equity and inclusion and the importance of self advocacy. Peng says,“If you are not at the table, then you are on the menu and I’m tired of being on the menu for others to make decisions for me or my community.”

Mai Zong obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Lakeland University in 1990, and her Masters in Social Work from UW-Madison in 1997.  She is certified in Cultural Competency Training with the Cross-Cultural…in Seattle, Washington.  Mai Zong was an adjunct instructor at Edgewood College and UW-Madison teaching Hmong American Experience courses.  Peng received his Bachelor of Science degree from Central College in 1994 and his Masters in Physics from DePaul University in 1997.

What We Are Doing Now

The Hmong Institute is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit.  With a passion to advance the Hmong community and build capacity, our work has three pillars–education, preservation, and promoting.  

Education

For education, we aim to be the Hmong heritage leader and cultural competency training center for anyone interested in the advancement of the Hmong community.  We are committed to ensure that individuals desire to learn about Hmong heritage and serve the Hmong community have the opportunity to do so through our educational and professional development training and resources. 

Preservation

For preservation, our youth program strives to increase students’ confidence through heritage learning; prepare students for higher education through academic and emotional support; and develop and foster future leaders through community-leadership engagement activities. 

Promoting

For promoting, we are a holistic day-time senior center that provides culturally and linguistically competent case management, mental health and senior meals and activities to Southeast Asians and Tibetan immigrants through the Hmoob Kaj Siab Program in Dane County.  We are a certified Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) program with a team of dedicated bilingual staff who are experienced, trained, and licensed to provide mental health services in Dane County.  In addition, we are the only Senior Meal site that provides Asian meals in Wisconsin.  

Where We Are Going

We believe that to grow a resilient community we must have a strong foundation to produce well-rounded productive citizens and culturally competent partners and individuals.  This includes the belief that everyone is an active agent in creating a just society, regardless of socio-economic, race or legal status; the communities most impacted by the issues are the faces and voices leading our work; we must create a healthy and safe learning environment and foster innovative leaders; and act with integrity, transparency and accountability.  Most importantly, our educational effort must include instilling in Hmong youth and children the values of hard work and independence left behind from Hmong parents and grandparents who made great sacrifices to bring Hmong children to America.