Prior to joining VCU, Im completed her doctoral work at the University of Minnesota in Twin Cities, Minnesota, and two years of post-doctoral work at Mack Center on Mental Health and Social Conflict at UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare. While in Minnesota, Im was afforded the opportunity to observe and study how culture shapes psychosocial response to trauma and how cultural theories can be translated into mental health policy and services with refugee communities. With the highest proportion of refugees among foreign born individuals in the United States, Minnesota provided Im the fuel to develop various community – based participatory research projects to empower immigrants and refugee communities in various settings.