Medford Connects
Just Say Hello
On August 5, GMAACC and local Medford youth gathered in the Medford City Hall Council Chambers to share the findings of Just Say Hello, a youth-led research project exploring what belonging looks like for AAPI-owned businesses in Medford. Our Medford youth leaders, alongside GMAACC, set out with a shared vision for this work: to grow youth leadership rooted in community engagement, to strengthen local AAPI networks by connecting residents, small businesses, and artists, and to map the social infrastructure that holds this city together. Together, we built these goals through a shared framework of care and belonging.
Community members, city staff, and partners gathered after the Just Say Hello presentation at Medford City Hall
Since 2025, our youth leaders have worked toward that vision by mapping meaningful community points and AAPI-owned businesses across Medford. They built relationships through tabling, workshops, and civic dialogue, and asked what it would take to build a more resilient and more connected city where every resident has a real hand in shaping the decisions that affect them.
That groundwork led directly to our project, Just Say Hello. Our youth spent months listening closely to AAPI business owners through community boards, geographic mapping, and in-person interviews. The youth asked questions not just about what businesses needed, but what it's actually like to build a life and a livelihood in Medford as an AAPI resident. What they heard pointed to three consistent themes: consistent language barriers across the city, a gap in awareness between city resources and AAPI-owned businesses, a broader sense of disconnection across the city, and a trust that needs to be rebuilt not just with city-elected officials, but with neighbors, institutions, and the community at large.
Medford Youth with Q.J. Shi (Director of Asian Business Empowerment Council)
Medford Youth with Vicki Burgoyne (Colleen’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop)
Medford Youth with Community Boards
Medford Youth with Kayla Myros (Economic Development Planner, Medford)
From these findings, our youth researchers brought forward four calls to action: a multilingual business directory, translated city resources, a dedicated AAPI point of contact within city government, and active city promotion of AAPI-owned businesses. Presented in partnership with Medford Connects and the City of Medford, the evening gave our youth researchers the chance to share what they learned directly with the community and the city officials who can help act on it, grounded not in criticism, but in the real voices of the business owners who welcomed them in.
Primary Research Interviewees, Findings, and Recommendations from Just Say Hello
Thank you to our Medford youth research team, Kyanna Tran, Jenny Tran, Lian Lam, and Mia Le, with support from GMAACC Youth member Brandon Pham, for the months of listening, mapping, and interviewing that made this project possible, and to Mina Kim, Shark Lao, and Kathy Min for guiding this work. We are deeply grateful to every business owner who welcomed our researchers in and shared their stories and lived experiences. We also thank Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and Medford city councilors/officials in attendance, along with every city staff member and neighbor who took the time to speak with our researchers.
Medford youth leaders presenting their research findings
Mia Le presenting at Medford City Hall
Community members during Q&A at Just Say Hello
About Medford Connects
In 2025, the City of Medford invited GMAACC to serve as a Community Liaison in Medford Connects, a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness initiative on climate change and social resilience. In collaboration with departments such as the Council on Aging, Medford Housing Authority, Office of Prevention and Outreach, and Office of Economic Development, GMAACC is co-designing asset mapping and zine-making workshops with Youth Leaders from Medford High School’s Asian Student Club. Through these workshops and interviews with city stakeholders, Youth Leaders will share their visions for community-building and social resilience while deepening their understanding of AAPI experiences across Medford.
Collage designed by Kyanna Tran
Meeting with City of Medford Climate Planner Brenda Pike
Creating Collage Connections
Zines by Asian Student Club Youth
Support Our Community Center
“Having the Asian American Community and Cultural Center in Malden would finally give us a home, a place where our experiences and voices are acknowledged. We would finally have the opportunity to stand together, support one another, and build a stronger community.”
— Cheuk Leung Kwong, Malden Resident and GMAACC member.