VIA-1
VIA-1
Dat Nguyen | Set Sail on Your Leadership – What It Takes To Be A Leader
Dat is the founder of Nolalight in New Orleans, an organization whose mission is to help community organizations build solid structural foundations through interactive trainings.
Dat Nguyen earned his BA in Film and Communications from the University of New Orleans. As President and Advisor of UNO-VASA, he has directed a number regional camps, leadership and team building seminars, and assisted in the rebuilding of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) organizations after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Within the community, Dat works at the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA) as the Media-Coordinator for the Raise Your Hand Campaign that focuses on education equity issues. He has developed a media team of high schools students who contributed to the successes in changing education policies in New Orleans public high schools. He is currently involved in leadership training and multi-cultural education at Loyola’s Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice.
Isabelle Du | | Personal Development Panel: How Your Ethnicity Affects The Media – Struggles And Inspiration
Not only did Isabelle Du start modeling at such an atypical age for a model where her peers were in the teens, but she also lacked in height and was ethnically-not-in-demand. Yet, she found a way to make it work as she lived abroad and worked internationally all over Asia for the past 4 years. Some of her credits include Elle, FHM, Cosmopolitan, Wet Seal, Mossimo and the Tyra Banks Show.
Other than modeling, Isabelle became FashionTV Vietnam’s host, a scuba diving stunt double, voiceover talent, soap opera actress, and managed popular female Vietnamese rap artist Suboi. And recently, Isabelle became the first ever Vietnamese finalist to make it to the competition reality show SUPERMODELME, on its third season, airing March 2012. But before all the glitz and glamour, as a college student earning her BA in Public Relations & Advertising from Chapman University, Isabelle interned for companies such as MTV, Nickelodeon, E!s True Hollywood Story and Comedy Central. She truly believes that with hard work, perseverance, and a positive mentality, it’s possible to prove stereotypes wrong and make anything happen.
Judy Ly | Personal Development Panel: How Your Ethnicity Affects The Media – Struggles And Inspiration
Judy is a model/actress/host, with an extensive portfolio highlighted by being on the magazine covers of Long Beach, Vivid, and Viet Beauty, modeling for Tokidoki Women’s Clothing, and hosting an up-and-coming show called EasyOC. Growing up, Judy used to play dress up, act out movie scenes, and put on fashion shows with her sisters. Of course, this was all just pretend. Never in a million years did she think those silly childhood games would turn into reality. What had started out as a hobby eventually evolved into a dream – she started to fall in love with the idea of being able to transform into different characters when on camera. Outside of modeling, acting and hosting, Judy works full-time for Mattel. There she is part of the magic that happens behind the marketing of the number 1 doll in the world – Barbie. By following all of her dreams – marketing, acting, modeling, and hosting, Judy aspires to inspire others to pursue their passions and dreams without letting fear get in the way. For more information on Judy, find her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/msjudyly).
Bao Nguyen | Marketing Your VSA: The Importance Of It, And Simple Ways To Achieve This
Bao Nguyen co-founded the Vietnamese Interacting as One conference and is an advisor for UVSA Midwest. He was heavily involved in VSA serving the following roles: UVSA Midwest Interim President (2007-2008), VIA-1 Advisor (2003-2007), VSA President (2002-2003) and Activities Coordinator (2001-2002) for VSA at the University of Cincinnati. He currently works as an Interactive Technologist at HyperQuake, a brand evolution agency in Cincinnati, OH and co-owns Pho Lang Thang, a pho shop in Cincinnati.
Huy Duong | Taking Your Organization To The Next Level
Huy Duong is currently a Principal Sales Engineer at Nimble Storage, which was named “The Next Big Thing” by the Wall Street Journal and looking at a successful IPO. Prior to this, Huy was also a Technical Account Manager at Data Domain which was ranked the 2nd fastest growing company in 2008 and 7th in 2009 by Deloitte. If you were to walk in any Fortune 500 Company’s IT Data Center, you would see one of Data Domain’s systems. While at Data Domain Huy was charge of the Company’s largest accounts that brought in over $60 Million dollars.
During his time there. Data Domain was purchased for 2.1 Billion Dollars, a significant sum for a company that was only 5 years old. Huy is a former President of UVSA of Northern California and has been an active sponsor with uNAVSA since 2008. Huy graduated in 2006 with a B.S. in Genetics from the University of California, Davis.
Thuc Nguyen | Vietnamese Identity Fishbowl
Thuc Nguyen has been actively involved in the Vietnamese communities of Chicago for more than 15 years. Living in Midwest during his teen, he did not feel connected to the Vietnamese communities and it people. But in 2002, everything changes for him. He went to Vietnamese Professional Society (VPS) Conference in Dallas, TX. It was at this conference he realize that there is more to life than just working and hanging out. From then he has actively seek out more things to do to make the Vietnamese Community better for the future generation. Mr. Nguyen graduated with a B.S. degree in Business Finance from the DePaul University in 1998. At the university, he was heavily involved with the Vietnamese Student Association and later was an active member of IVSU, Vietnamese Community of Illinois, UVSA Midwest, and UNAVSA. In 2007, he founded the Union of Vietnamese Student Association of the Midwest. Now, Mr. Nguyen currently works in Chicago and serves on the Board of Advisers for Illinois Vietnamese Student Union (IVSU) and Union of Vietnamese Student of the Midwest (UVSA Midwest).
My-Phuong Ly | Mafia in the Real World: Exploring Who We Are, Where
My-Phuong Ly is currently a working media associate at Starcom Worldwide and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a degree in finance and minor in Asian American Studies. Starting at a young age, she noticed that her phenotype played a huge role with stereotypes in school and expectations of her elsewhere. Disgruntled and also struggling with her bicultural identity, My-Phuong searched for answers throughout high school and college. She started to actively participate in Asian American awareness and solidarity events in college and continued to contribute at the local, regional, and continental level. Understanding the importance of continued involvement, she tries to leverage her experiences to give back to the Vietnamese American youth.
Dr. Giao Tran | “Becoming a Healthy, Balanced and Successful Vietnamese-American Professional”
Dr. Tran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati (UC). Dr. Tran also serves as the Director of the Behavioral Health Research Program in the Psychology Department and an Ohio-licensed clinical provider in the Psychiatry and Neuroscience Department. She has taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses related to clinical psychology, health psychology, and research methods.
Dr. Tran is a first-generation Vietnamese-American citizen whose family members were political refugees from Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam to the United States in 1975 when the Vietnam War ended. She experienced first-hand the many opportunities for educational and career advancements that the American society continues to provide to disadvantaged Americans and international individuals. Her personal experiences motivated her to seek a career as a Clinical Psychologist and a University Professor that is dedicated to helping young adults from diverse cultural background achieve their personal and professional goals. Towards this goal of helping young adults find and achieve their dreams, she has focused on developing and scientifically testing novel interventions for young adults with alcohol use problems and co-existing with anxiety and depression.”
Thomas Nguyen | Do You Know Martial Arts? Are You Good at Math?
Thomas Nguyen has a BA in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a MSEd in Educational Psychology from Purdue University. He is currently working towards his PhD in Counseling Psychology with a Sports Psychology Specialization at the University of North Texas. Passionate about the Asian-American community, Thomas was a former Vice President of VSA and is the Principal Founder of the Asian-interest fraternity, Lambda Phi Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma. Excited to share his personal experiences and learn from others, he hopes to talk with every single person at this year’s VIA-1!
JoAnn Truong | Vietnamese Cultural Dances
JoAnn Truong-Nguyen graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2005. As an undergrad, she served as an executive board member of UCVSA who hosted the very first VIA-1 Conference at UC, ten years ago. She was also one of the founding members who chartered Delta Phi Lambda – UC’s first and only Asian-Interest Sorority. After graduating from UC, JoAnn moved to Seoul, South Korea to teach ESL where she was able to broaden her horizons. Born and raised in Cincinnati, JoAnn currently resides in West Chester, Ohio with her husband and two year old daughter. With her first-hand experience in Vietnamese Cultural Dance, JoAnn will share her knowledge and personal experiences by demonstrating and teaching various dance movements.
Lee Wong | Civic Engagement on the Common Level
In 2005, Lee was elected (re-elected in 2009) as the Trustee of West Chester, Ohio. He served 20 years (active duty) in the U.S. Army as Special Agent for the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), an elite and world renowned investigative agency. Lee conducted serious and sensitive felony investigations, both military and civilian, all over the world. He has directed Protective Service for the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General Officers, and other foreign dignitaries in Europe, India, and all of the Pacific rim countries. Lee is a decorated U.S. Army veteran. Lee has vast senior/corporate level executives experience in positions ranging from civilian Police Officer, to Plant Protection Supervisor for Joseph E. Seagram Inc., to Facility Account Manager for Guardsmark, Inc., to Director of Worldwide Security for Johnson & Johnson. Lee earned his Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology.
Anh Q. Hua | Behind the Scenes: Non-Profit Organizations
Anh holds a Bachelor of Arts in International and Regional Studies from the University of the Pacific. During her undergraduate years, she spent a year studying abroad in Vietnam and China. In 2008, she volunteered at the Representative Office of the Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment (VOICE) in Manila, Philippines, where she oversaw the resettlement of the last stateless Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines to Canada. Thereafter, she spent almost two years in Cambodia and India serving as Country Director for Senhoa Foundation to help vulnerable persons and survivors of human trafficking. Currently, Anh is based in California and continues to work for Senhoa Foundation as Operations Director. She is a deferred graduate student of Princeton University.
Hung Pham | Behind the Scenes: Non-Profit Organizations
Hung Pham is a former VSA president at the University of Cincinnati during his undergraduate study. He has obtained his BS at UC in 1990 and MBA at Xavier University in 2000. Hung has been working in the chemical industry more than 20 yrs whose jobs range from QA, R&D, Strategic Business Analysis, Sales, Business Development, and currently works as a Strategic Marketing Manager at BASF. He co-founded Care2Share, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that build and improve lives of poor people in remote regions of Vietnam and Cambodia. Since 2000 to now, C2S has funded more than $650,000 to nurture and build up villages with running water, latrines, children care centers, health clinics, homes, education, micro-loans, etc. C2S has also supported orphanages and helped victims of natural disasters like floods in Vietnam and earthquake in Haiti.
Quyen Dinh | Dispelling The “Model Minority Myth:” The True Educational Challenges Of Southeast Asian American Students & Current Policy Solutions
Quyen Dinh is the Education Policy Advocate for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). In this role, Quyen focuses on implementing SEARAC’s Southeast Asian American Action and Visibility in Education (SAVE) program, a national advocacy program that combines capacity building of local organizations, legislative advocacy, and action-oriented research to connect the real experiences of Southeast Asian American students with local, state, and federal policy makers. Prior to joining SEARAC, Quyen served as Senior Program Manager of the International Children Assistance Network (ICAN) in San Jose, CA. She originated ICAN’s data analysis processes to measure impact across six projects of the Happy 5 program, an early childhood education campaign that served Vietnamese immigrant families through channels ranging from parenting workshops to radio programs. Quyen also supervised all facets of the program ranging from program design, implementation, evaluation, resource development, and personnel management. Quyen holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California of Los Angeles with a focus in education policy and research methods. At UCLA, Quyen spent her summer internship with Education Pioneers, a national human capital organization building the pipeline of talent to address the urban education crisis. Quyen also co-founded a graduate student organization called Policy Professionals for Diversity & Equity with the mission to provide a forum for students and alumni to advocate for diversity and equity within the Masters of Public Policy program at UCLA. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Quyen grew up in both Huntington Beach, CA and San Jose, CA.
Nghia Le | Dispelling The “Model Minority Myth”: The True Educational Challenges Of Southeast Asian American Students & Current Policy Solutions
Active in the Vietnamese Community in the Midwest, Nghia is the current Collective Philanthropy Selection Director for UNAVSA. Previously involved in the Catalyst Foundation, he lived in Rach Gia, Vietnam and worked to improve the lives of locals there. Currently he works with Teach For America and remains active in the Vietnamese community today. He is also passionate about photography, music, and the Packers.
Khoa Nguyen | A Gaysian Story: What It Means to be Gay and Asian Today
Originally from Reading, PA, Khoa Nguyen currently resides in Cincinnati, OH where he is a project leader for LPK, a design/branding firm. Previous to working in the design world, Khoa worked for Cincinnati Opera in fundraising and PR. Heavily involved with the arts, he serves on numerous boards and committees including the chamber music group concert:nova, the Cincinnati Symphony’s young professional group Encore, and the grants committee of Cincinnati’s united arts fund ArtsWave. He also freelances as a trumpeter with the Middletown Symphony, the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony, and other local music groups. Khoa is a graduate of the C-Change Leadership Development program ran through the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Khoa is the web and social media coordinator for the Cincinnati steering-committee of the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization that fights for LGBT rights; and has also recently joined the young professional committee of Caracole, an organization that provides support services with persons living with HIV/AIDS. Khoa attained his undergraduate degree from Shenandoah University in Music Education, and later received his Masters of Music in trumpet performance, Master of Arts in Arts Administration, and MBA from the University of Cincinnati.
Vincent Pham | Asian Americans, The Media, And The (Im)possibility For Change
Vincent Pham received his PhD in Communication from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He conducts critical and theoretical analyses of media representations and public discourse, specifically focusing on the intersections of race, rhetoric, and media organizations within the Asian American community. Prior to graduate school, he was member in the Asian American Artists Collective in Chicago and co-wrote the closing show, “Mars, Marriage, and Mass DistrAction,” for the Chicago Asian American Showcase. He also co-authored “Asian Americans and the Media” with Professor Kent A. Ono for Polity Press. Even though he now lives in southern California, he considers the Midwest his home and sometimes surprisingly misses cold weather.
Thuy Cao | Overcome Everyday Media
Thuy Cao has worn many hats as a leader and organizer. For the past 10 years, she has had extensive experience in management, training, sales, marketing, advertising, event planning, consulting and insurance. Born in Covington, KY, the second of four siblings, Thuy spent most of her life growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her family was sponsored to come to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1975. In 2003, Thuy graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor degree in Business Economics with Marketing minor. She was very involved on campus in a variety of organizations, including Cincinnatus Honor Society, CWEST, Student Alumni Council and many more. In 2004, Thuy moved to Chicago to work for R.H. Donnelley (N.K.A Dex Media), and later ventured to Columbus, Ohio to work for Cardinal Health, Weber Associates and finally creating her own LLC to work in the insurance field. She moved back to Cincinnati at the end of 2010 to take a position as Marketing Director and Business consultant for Vita Vision Dental Lab. Around that time, she was elected as Chairman for the 2nd Annual Asian Food Fest (August 2011), which she will chair again in its third year, coming May 2012. In her spare time, Thuy is an ardent lover of sports, outdoor adventure, and life in general, constantly trying new activities, including boxing, volleyball, sailing, camping, travel, event planning, volunteer work, and experimenting with new food.
Stephane Gauger | Film and Multimedia and Asian Americans – Emphasis on Saigon Electric
Born in Saigon, Vietnam and raised in Orange County, California, Mr. Gauger received a bachelor arts degree in theatre and French literature at Cal State Fullerton. Mr. Gauger subsequently worked in the camera and lighting departments on independent films in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
His feature directing debut, OWL AND THE SPARROW, shot on location in Ho Chi Minh city, premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2007 and has gone on to win over fifteen awards at international festivals, including the audience award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, the emerging filmmaker award at the Denver Film Festival, and the best narrative feature at the San Francisco Intl. Asian American Festival. At the 2009 Golden Kite Awards in Hanoi, Owl and the Sparrow received the critic choice award as well as the best foreign co-production award. Mr. Gauger was featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 new faces of 2007. He was also nominated for breakthrough director at the Gotham Awards in New York City and the John Cassavetes award at Independent Spirit Awards. His music documentary VIETNAM OVERTURES, about a music exchange program between Norway and the music institutions of Vietnam, premiered at the 2008 Hawaii International Film Festival.
DJ Slim | Asian Americans in the Music Industry
Slim, DJ and Music Producer, started his music journey in 1992. Considered as one of the top Vietnamese DJ/Producer in America. The first Vietnamese DJ to release a 12″ trance vinyl in Germany by Blutonium records, and also spun at many night clubs from L.A to Saigon. Over 3 million views on youtube of his producing work for artist such as Thai, 454 Life Entertainment, Trish Thuy Trang, Asia Entertainment, Ung Hoang Phuc, Freeway, Philthy Rich, movie soundtracks, etc. A veteran of electronic dance and hip hop production, Slim continues fine-tuning his music winning formula, producing for films and commercials through his company Empire Recordings.
TyQuan | Modern Dance Crew: Breaking into the Dance Industry
Tyquan was born in a city of South Vietnam called Nha Trang. In 1989, his family moved to the US and settled in an urban neighborhood where he gained street knowledge and met Hip Hop. Since then, his mission as been to represent and spread awareness about the truth of Hip Hop and the power it has to empower the oppressed, misguided youth into a more positive route in life. In 2000, he started what is known as the 4 Universal Elementz, a Hip Hop Crew, gaining a lot of credentials within the Hip Hop community.
In 2003, Tyquan graduated with a Bachelor degree in Management Information System with a Magna Cum Laude honors since he knows the importance of education.
In April 2005, Alien Ness, President of Zulu Kingz, discovered Tyquan and honored him to be a part of the Legendary Crew Mighty Zulu Kingz. Tyquan would then lead the Mighty Zulu Kingz into new heights worldwide, granting him the leadership role as the Vice President of Mighty Zulu Kingz.
Currently, Tyquan stay active as the Vice President of Mighty Zulu Kingz dance crew, leading his crew winning nationally and internationally. He continue to train, dance, judge, perform, teach, and participate in outreach programs to support Hip Hop Culture, and to pass the torch to the next generation. Also, he is currently the Lead Operations Data Analyst for small business company