Commissioner Lesley Briones is proud to announce the appointment of Ryan Ramphul, PhD, and Deborah Y. Chen, Esq., to the newly-established Harris County AAPI Commission.

Ryan Ramphul, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Spatial Epidemiology at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and a Lecturer at Rice University. With a background in urban planning, Dr. Ramphul’s research explores how neighborhood environments—such as housing conditions, food access, and healthcare infrastructure—affect health outcomes, particularly in underserved communities. His work integrates geographic information systems (GIS) science with public health data to identify disparities, inform policy, and guide interventions.

Deborah Y. Chen, Esq. is a community activist with OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates for 20+ years and an expert on SMWDBE Government Contracting/Supplier Diversity. Debbie started as a student leader at the University of Texas–Austin advocating for an Asian American Studies Center, hiring AAPI mental health counselors, and including AAPIs in scholarship considerations. Debbie is the OCA-GH Civic Engagement Programs Director and co-founder of the Houston AAPI Film Festival (HAAPIFEST) with a priority of cultural organizing through the arts, citizenship, GOTV, exit polls, Census, redistricting, youth, education, and leadership programs.