Meet the Staff
Pamela K. Sari, Ph.D.
Director
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Email: psari@purdue.edu
Pamela K. Sari is an American Studies scholar specializes in the intersection of religion and transnational Asian/immigrant communities. She earned her Ph.D. in American Studies and graduate minors in Anthropology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Purdue University. As a graduate student, she was involved in Asian Pacific American Caucus and Student Steering Committee to propose the AAARCC. She was a 2019 Summer Research Associate at The Pluralism Project, Harvard University. Her favorite parts of working at the AAARCC are the faculty/staff-facing and student-facing opportunities to weave Asian American and Asian experiences into Purdue's campus through research and programming. Her other favorite parts are late afternoons at the AAARCC when students gather with their communities: listening to music, doing homework, talking with each other. The cultivation of community that takes place is real, contagious, and energizing!
Manabu Taketani, M.A.
Program Administrator
Pronouns: he/him/his
Email: mtaketan@purdue.edu
Born and raised in the Midwest, Manabu’s journey of working in higher education began in the state of Washington as a Hall Director and it eventually led him back to the region at Purdue! Manabu is passionate about creating opportunities for the local and campus community to engage with the Asian and Asian American experiences. His favorite aspect of working at the AAARCC is meeting many students, faculty, and staff members throughout the year at various experiences. One of his favorite memories of working at the AAARCC was hosting Wong Fu Products in Spring of 2019 and seeing the mounting excitement before and during the event as well as the great conversations that continue to take place afterwards.
Kathleen Wagner
Administrative Assistant
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Email: wkathlee@purdue.edu
Kathleen Wagner is the administrative assistant at the AAARCC. She has been with the AAARCC since September 2019. She majored in Psychology in undergrad and hopes to pursue a master's degree sometime in the future. Her favorite part of working at the AAARCC is getting meet and work with various faculty, students, and staff throughout the semester. One of her favorite memories from her time at the AAARCC was the DDI lunch panel featuring Dr. Gandhi, Sarah Hurwitz, and Ron Reagan.
Denny Putra
Graduate Assistant
Pronouns: he/him/his
Denny is an international student from Indonesia and currently studying Counseling Psychology at Purdue College of Education. Prior to entering the Counseling Psychology program, he served as a lecturer at Krida Wacana Christian University in Jakarta Indonesia and worked primarily with college students in an academic setting. Denny also has experience working in culture-based community capacity building and cultural education for the youth through his involvement in Sacred Bridge Foundation (a culture based not-for-profit organization) in Indonesia. Some of his favorite things working at the AAARCC are meeting diverse people and students, having the opportunity to attend diversity and inclusion events, promoting events and getting involved in AAARCC development. What he likes about AAARCC is the family, homely, and cozy type of working environment.
Jean Paul Gerard Se Liban
Graduate Assistant
Pronouns: he/him/his
Jean Paul Gerard is a Master’s student studying Environmental and Ecological Engineering originally from Los Angeles, CA. He is a recent graduate of Purdue, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in the same program in 2021. As an undergraduate, he was involved within the Purdue Asian Community with various leadership positions within the Purdue Filipino Association (PFA) and various collaborations with other Asian organizations on campus. He is excited to continue to continue to foster those relationships as a member of the AAARCC. His favorite memories at the AAARCC were attending the weekly Lunch and Learns which introduced him to previously unknown aspects of the Purdue community. As a member of the AAARCC staff he is excited to help develop the events that he had previously participated in.
Dominic Liongson
Dominic Liongson is an undergraduate student studying Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. After graduating he hopes to accomplish work as a wildlife biologist or ecologist and eventually complete a master’s degree. Dominic originally grew up in Sacramento, California. When coming to Purdue he wanted to learn more about Asian culture which had not been prominent in his hometown. While at Purdue he has been an active member and board member for multiple organizations including VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) and PFA (Purdue Filipino Association).