Special Service for Groups (SSG) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was founded in 1952 as a response to the Zoot Suit riots in Los Angeles. Currently, more than 20 divisions provide direct social services, technical assistance, and policy advocacy in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Francisco. The Research and Evaluation Team (SSG R&E) advances SSG’s mission to build community capacity through a variety of services and trainings that are tailored to be responsive to local histories, cultures, and political contexts. SSG R&E applies rigorous techniques in evaluation, community research, public health and planning with cultural sensitivity and deep community roots to help organizations, philanthropy, and public agencies make a greater impact.
Team Members
Erica Juhn, MPH, MA
she/her
CMHEP Role: API Equity Team
Erica joined SSG in 2014 as a Research Analyst and currently co-leads the team as Co-Director of Research & Evaluation. Her experience includes program evaluation and organizational capacity-building for programs and social justice projects in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and beyond. For the past 5 years, she has been part of the Asian and Pacific Islander Technical Assistance Provider team, providing technical assistance and support for Phase II community grantees of the California Department of Public Health’s California Reducing Disparities Project. Erica has nearly 20 years of experience working with Los Angeles-based nonprofits and previously worked with the Korean immigrant community on language access and as a health educator. Her research interests include community health education and health equity, with a focus on older adults. Erica holds a Master of Public Health degree in Community Health Sciences and a Master’s degree in Asian American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jesse Damon, MPH
he/him
CMHEP Role: API Equity Team
Jesse joined SSG in 2014 and currently co-leads the team as Co-Director of Research & Evaluation. He manages a wide range of evaluation projects, and provides capacity-building expertise for organizations and community groups. Jesse has also implemented several different technical assistance projects for local community-based organizations, including the Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC). Currently, he is a technical assistance provider on the California Department of Public Health, Office of Health Equity’s, California Reducing Disparities Project, which seeks to elevate community-defined practices in mental health programming from underrepresented and diverse communities across the state. Prior to SSG, Jesse worked as an administrator at the University of Texas at Austin, and was a field director for ‘Diabetes Care in American Samoa’ a National Institute of Health (NIH)-funded research project based in Tafuna, American Samoa. His public health interests are focused on structural inequalities, the impact of discrimination on health, and health equity, particularly with Pacific Islanders. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Susan Baik, MPP
she/her
CMHEP Role: API Equity Team
Susan joined SSG R&E in July 2019. During her time at SSG R&E, she has worked on several program evaluation, technical assistance, and capacity building projects. She was inspired to pursue this work due to her deep interest in developing community-informed policies that aim to address systemic inequality. She brings qualitative and quantitative research and survey design skills from her experiences at university research centers and nonprofits in Los Angeles. Her past research has focused on a wide range of policy issues including homelessness, immigration, criminal justice, and public education funding in Los Angeles. She holds a Masters of Public Policy from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UC San Diego.
Trang Hoang, Ph.D., LCSW
she/her
CMHEP Role: API Equity Lead
Dr. Hoang started her career working with Southeast Asian youth in Bataan refugee camp in the Philippines and with Southeast Asian families in Los Angeles in 1990s. In 2000s, she focused on social work training in Asia Pacific region and completed her dissertation highlighting social work practice with children and families in Vietnam. After completion of her doctorate at UCLA, she taught courses at California State University, San Bernardino and at USC while managing the SSG Alliance division, providing mental health services for individuals with persistent and severe mental health needs. Currently, she is teaching, working with veterans and Vietnamese families, providing training and technical support for various projects. She is also co-chair of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Mental Health Subcommittee. She is passionate about mindfulness practice and self-compassion in her approach to service.