Dr. Marielle Reataza's career is marked by resilience, passion, and a steadfast commitment to community. As the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA), she has made an indelible impact advocating for access to culturally competent mental health services and the need for a holistic view of wellness for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities.

Her path to becoming Executive Director wasn’t a direct one; she started her career as a public high school teacher. “I went into teaching because I value education and have always been drawn to service,” explains Dr. Reataza. However, this was at the start of the 2001 No Child Left Behind act with its heavy focus on metrics and standardized testing. “I love teaching and being with my students and their families,” she says. “But what really killed it for me is politics.”

With education becoming more political, Dr. Reataza decided to switch careers to help the public sector and entered medical school at the University of California Irvine. “I went into medicine thinking I’m going to go into public health and community-based care,” she explains, “but you can’t do it the way you envision it.”

She attributes part of her naivety about the medical system to having immigrated from the Philippines with her parents as a child. “I think all of that comes from being an immigrant and not knowing what these systems are because you spend your entire life growing up, at least for me, having to learn the culture and language and teach it to my parents at the same time.”

Despite being an accomplished medical student, her mental health began to suffer during her residency. In addition to the work involved, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Reataza sought professional help and that turned her world upside down. “It was the worst time to open that because it blew up my entire life. I wasn’t ready,” she explains. “I’ve unpacked and now I'm traumatized. That’s why we say it’s important to do trauma-informed care because if a person is not ready, it will blow up their life.”

Additionally, Dr. Reataza experienced severe side effects from psychiatric medications prescribed by her doctor based on a misdiagnosis, which led to questions about illicit drug use and her competence within her residency program. This experience highlighted the stigmas and difficulties surrounding mental health issues, even for those within the medical community.

Her withdrawal from the residency program was a turning point and she returned to research since she had already been published in medical journals during medical school. However, she found the research environment equally challenging due to mistreatment and monotony.

Recognizing the need for a broader understanding, she pursued studies in health policy and law at the University of California San Francisco. This shift allowed her to explore healthcare access and the systemic barriers that patients face. Her studies as well as her own experience with Medicaid due to the underpayment of researchers, opened her eyes even more to the complexities and inequities within the healthcare system. "I'm embarrassed as someone who's part of the system," Dr. Reataza recalls, "I don't understand how this works."

After graduating in 2017 with a master's degree, Dr. Reataza's career took another significant turn when she came across an online job posting at NAPAFASA, which was founded in 1988 to "promote health justice and improve the cultural responsiveness of behavioral health services" for the AANHPI community.

 “The work saved me,” reflects Dr. Reataza, “and I realized that this space in a nonprofit was actually where I could take all of my previous experience as a teacher, as a physician, as someone from the community, as someone with lived experience, as someone who grew up with drug dealers and gangs around.” As she worked her way up at NAPAFASA, she found her work allowed her to leverage her diverse experiences and address the needs of marginalized communities.

Some of the challenges AANHPI community faces when it comes to seeking help are access, which includes cost, geographical and language barriers, and stigma. "I think the estimate is about 95% of people who should be seeking behavioral services don't. That's in the entire country, and among all ethnicities, AANHPI folks are the least likely," Dr. Reataza explains, "I'm gonna venture to say somewhere between 97 to 99% of us who should be seeking [help] are not."

Data also plays a role. Dr. Reataza emphasizes its critical role: "There are few studies on AANHPI folks and behavioral health that accurately capture actionable information. A lot of it has to do with the lack of disaggregated data. So hypothetically, if someone tells me that 20% of AANHPI folks use tobacco or nicotine products, I have no idea whom among AANHPI communities to address."

Eventually, Dr. Reataza rose to a leadership position within her organization, where she applied a systematic approach to address mental health and wellness in a culturally-informed manner. Her leadership style is rooted in community-centered values and a deep understanding of equity.

“Leading an organization like this and being at the intersection of so many things is not glamorous. Leadership doesn't come from you wanting to lead; it comes from other people recognizing that you're fit to lead. And I really think that we should think about it that way.”

Dr. Reataza's resilience, adaptability, and lived experience have influenced her work as an effective advocate. Her story underscores the importance of addressing mental health stigmas, improving access to healthcare, and fostering a supportive community. Dr. Reataza's ongoing efforts continues to inspire and drive progress towards more equitable and compassionate behavioral health care access.