Pa Nhia Yang (she/her) is the Assistant Director of First-Generation & Low-Income Student Support. Hailing from South Sacramento, CA, she is a first-generation college graduate and queer Hmong American who is passionate about equitable access to quality education. She practices from a person-centered and strengths-based framework. In addition to supporting with current FGLI initiatives such as the Access Fund, Swipe Out Hunger, and the FGLI Workshop Series, Pa Nhia will be launching the new Peer Navigator program to provide peer-to-peer education for our first-generation Cornellians.

Before this role, Pa Nhia worked in the education, healthcare, and non-profit sectors. She earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from CSU Sacramento and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan, specializing in school social work. When she's not playing Stardew Valley, she enjoys researching new evidence-based skin care and watching horror films.