Our Story
Empowering Health Agency LLC was established in October 2019 by Dr. Bao Lee, a social worker, researcher, educator, and entrepreneur with more than fifteen years of experience in the human services, mental health, and disability services fields. Through years of direct practice, leadership, supervision, research, and community engagement, Dr. Lee recognized the need for an agency that not only delivers high-quality services to vulnerable populations but also invests in the well-being, growth, and development of the professionals providing those services.
At Empowering Health Agency LLC, we believe that compassionate and effective services begin with a healthy and supported workforce. Human service professionals are often called to support individuals through some of the most challenging moments of their lives, yet many experience burnout, compassion fatigue, and limited organizational support. Our agency was founded on the belief that employees deserve the same dignity, respect, compassion, and opportunities for growth that we strive to provide to those we serve. By fostering a culture of collaboration, self-care, accountability, professional development, and mutual respect, we create an environment where both employees and clients can thrive.
Our mission is to provide meaningful, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and person-centered services to individuals with disabilities, mental health challenges, and other vulnerable or marginalized populations. Through Day Support Services, Home and Community-Based Employment Services, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and other community-based supports, we empower individuals to identify their strengths, overcome barriers, achieve meaningful goals, and improve their overall quality of life.
Our approach is grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, which recognizes that individuals do not exist in isolation. Rather, each person’s experiences, opportunities, challenges, and outcomes are influenced by multiple interconnected systems, including family, peers, schools, workplaces, communities, social services, policies, cultural values, and societal structures. By understanding these interconnected systems, we can better appreciate the factors that contribute to an individual’s strengths and challenges.
This ecological perspective guides our practice by encouraging staff to look beyond presenting concerns and understand the broader environmental, social, cultural, and systemic influences affecting each person’s life. We recognize that barriers to success are often shaped by factors such as poverty, discrimination, limited access to resources, trauma, health disparities, housing instability, and systemic inequities. By addressing these factors through a holistic lens, we can develop more effective, individualized, and sustainable support strategies.
Empowering Health Agency LLC also integrates principles from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and strengths-based practice, encouraging individuals to acknowledge life’s challenges while building upon their strengths, values, resilience, and capacity for growth. We work collaboratively with clients to develop individualized goals that promote independence, self-determination, community integration, emotional well-being, employment success, and lifelong learning.
As an organization, we are committed to social justice, advocacy, and continuous improvement. We believe that every individual—whether client, employee, family member, or community partner—possesses inherent value, dignity, and potential. Our role is not simply to provide services but to create opportunities for empowerment, inclusion, personal growth, and meaningful participation within the community.
At Empowering Health Agency LLC, we recognize that being human means experiencing challenges, setbacks, and vulnerabilities. Growth occurs when individuals are provided with support, understanding, education, and opportunities to learn from their experiences. We strive to cultivate an environment where compassion, accountability, resilience, and hope guide our work, allowing both those we serve and those who serve alongside us to flourish. Together, we are committed to creating positive social change, strengthening communities, and empowering individuals to live meaningful, self-directed lives.
Our Philosophy
At Empowering Health Agency LLC, our philosophy is grounded in social justice, person-centered practice, cultural responsiveness, trauma-informed care, and the belief that every individual possesses inherent strengths, dignity, and the capacity for growth. We are committed to advocating for marginalized and underserved populations while empowering individuals to achieve greater independence, self-determination, and meaningful participation within their communities.
Our approach is informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, which recognizes that individuals are influenced by multiple interconnected systems, including family, social relationships, communities, cultural values, institutions, policies, and broader societal structures. By understanding these influences, we are better equipped to provide holistic, individualized services that address not only a person’s immediate needs but also the environmental and systemic factors that impact their well-being and success.
We also draw upon principles from Feminist Theory, which emphasize equity, empowerment, advocacy, and the examination of systemic barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized populations. These principles help guide our commitment to reducing disparities, promoting inclusion, and amplifying the voices of those we serve.
At Empowering Health Agency LLC, we believe that empowering clients begins with empowering the professionals who support them. Human service professionals are not only providers of care; they are individuals with their own experiences, emotions, challenges, and aspirations. The well-being of our employees directly influences the quality of services delivered to our clients.
For this reason, we strive to cultivate a supportive, collaborative, and growth-oriented organizational culture that values self-compassion, professional development, accountability, and self-care. We believe that when professionals feel respected, supported, and valued, they are better equipped to provide compassionate, ethical, and high-quality services.
Our commitment is to quality over quantity. We prioritize meaningful relationships, individualized support, and sustainable outcomes rather than simply meeting service quotas. By fostering a culture of learning, wellness, and continuous improvement, we create an environment where both employees and clients can thrive.
Ultimately, our mission is to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and create positive social change by providing services that promote independence, resilience, inclusion, and an improved quality of life for all.
Our Mission Statement
Empowering Health Agency LLC views every individual we serve and every professional within our agency as valuable, capable, and worthy of support. Like golden bars that require consistent polishing to shine, we believe that clients and employees thrive when they are provided with compassion, recognition, guidance, and opportunities for growth.
Our mission is to empower clients and employees to grow personally and professionally while promoting independence, self-determination, and meaningful participation within the community. Through culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and person-centered services, we support individuals in recognizing their strengths, overcoming barriers, and achieving their goals.
We are committed to advocating for marginalized and underserved populations by increasing awareness of social realities, promoting equity, and helping individuals develop the skills and confidence needed to navigate systems, access resources, and advocate for themselves and others.
The Founder and Owner
Dr. Bao Lee, PhD, MSWFounder and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Bao Lee, PhD, MSW, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Empowering Health Agency LLC. Dr. Lee earned her Bachelor of Social Work from St. Catherine University, her Master of Social Work from the University of St. Thomas, and her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a clinical specialization from Walden University. As a social worker, researcher, educator, and entrepreneur, Dr. Lee has dedicated her career to advancing equity, improving access to quality services, and advocating for marginalized and underserved populations.
With more than fifteen years of leadership, supervision, management, and direct practice experience in the human services field, Dr. Lee has worked extensively with individuals experiencing mental health challenges, disabilities, systemic barriers, and social inequities. Her professional experience includes the development, oversight, and management of 245D Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), Day Support Services, Employment Services, and Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to promoting person-centered practices, client autonomy, community inclusion, and meaningful opportunities for individuals to achieve their personal and professional goals.
In addition to her work in human services leadership, Dr. Lee has developed a strong academic and research foundation. Her scholarly interests focus on mental health, culturally responsive practices, marginalized communities, ecological systems theory, social justice, and the factors that influence engagement with health and human service systems. Through research, teaching, community engagement, and professional practice, she strives to bridge the gap between theory and practice while contributing to the advancement of evidence-based and culturally informed services.
Dr. Lee founded Empowering Health Agency LLC with a vision of creating an organization that values both the individuals receiving services and the professionals providing them. She recognized that sustainable, high-quality services require a workforce that is supported, respected, and equipped with the tools necessary for success. As a result, the agency was built upon principles of self-compassion, self-care, professional growth, ethical leadership, accountability, and continuous learning.
Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, Dr. Lee believes that individuals are influenced by interconnected personal, familial, community, cultural, and societal systems. This perspective allows the agency to understand clients holistically and develop services that address not only individual needs but also the environmental and systemic factors affecting their quality of life. Her leadership philosophy emphasizes cultural responsiveness, trauma-informed care, social advocacy, and empowerment as essential components of effective service delivery.
Dr. Lee remains committed to fostering positive social change by empowering individuals, strengthening communities, mentoring future professionals, and advocating for equitable access to resources and opportunities. Her vision for Empowering Health Agency LLC is to create an organization where clients, employees, and community partners can thrive through collaboration, innovation, compassion, and a shared commitment to improving lives.
Khay XiongOwner
Khay Xiong is the owner of Empowering Health Agency LLC, and he is an Economics and Business graduate from Xaiphattana Economy College. Khay understands the business model and is passionate about helping people grow personally, financially, and professionally. Khay has experience with helping the vulnerable and homeless population and supports social policy. Khay plans to expand the mental health social services programs by creating a different business model that includes self-compassion, financial growth, and holding high ethical standards.
Framework
The feminist theory is the framework that we utilize to structure the processes in the agency. Wikipedia (2019) says, “Feminist theory aims to understand gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations, and sexuality. While providing a critique of these social and political relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on the promotion of women’s rights and interests (para 1).”
Empowering Health Agency LLC focuses on the inequalities of society and heavily relies on creating equality for all professionals. We do not believe in hierarchy, power, and control. All employees in the agency are perceived as colleagues – everyone comes in with their own expertise and experience, which everyone can learn from and grow professionally.
Together we work as a cohesive team to support our clients. We help them with skills building, coach them with self-advocacy skills, and most importantly, teach them self-worth. The clients should never be seen as below or incapable because they are human beings just like everyone else and deserve to be heard and acknowledged.
Empowering Health Agency LLC advocates for marginalized groups and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Belittling the clients is prohibited, and individuals who practice power and control will be terminated. We offer client-centered services, which means that the client should have the freedom to choose what they want to work on. The leadership team at Empowering Health Agency LLC provides support for the professionals but not to control or overpower their opinions and suggestions. The leadership team will need to actively listen to the professionals to identify root issues and help them navigate versus belittling them.
Get in Touch
If you have any inquiries or concerns, please do not hesitate to send us a message through our online form.