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20th Anniversary Convention
"Securing Our Future Today"

This list of speakers will be updated.

Conference Speakers

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Anne Avery - AAPI Outreach Coordinator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

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Robert Bannerman - Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Commercial Service

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Hon. Bui Diem - Author/Former Vietnam Ambassador to the U.S.

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Huy Bui - Executive Director, National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies

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James Bui - Regional Director, National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies

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Marianne Brackney - Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration

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Raul Catangui - President, Synergy Alliances

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James Chang - Business Insurance Field Underwriter, State Farm

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Mai Tat Dac - Former Board Chair, Vietnamese Association of Illinois

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Mike Eastman - Vice President, First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation

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Hon. David Englin - Delegate, Commonwealth of Virginia

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Jared Genser - President, Freedom Now

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Daniel Hatcher - Manager of Outreach, Youth Service America

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Hon. Mark Herring - Senator, Commonwealth of Virginia

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Hon. Michael Honda - U.S. House of Representatives

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Angie Ngoc Hoquang - Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration

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Juli Huynh - Corporate Recruitment Program Manager, US Department of Transportation

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Nghi Huynh - President/CEO, World Developers Group

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Kimquy Kieu - Medical Officer, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

bullet Hon. Vivek Kundra - Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Commonwealth of Virginia
bullet Ngoan Le - Senior Program Director, Chicago Community Trust
bullet Jimmy Lee - Executive Director, The White House Initiative on Asian Americans Pacific Islanders
bullet Sherri Ly - Reporter, WTTG/FOX 5 News
bullet Julie Mancuso - Grants Manager, Youth Service America
bullet Elizabeth McCausland - Partner, Cooney, Mattson, Lance, Blackburn, Richards, and O'Connor P.A.
bullet Tara R. Miles - Director, BizLaunch - Arlington Economic Development
bullet Cassandra Miller - Field Manager, Youth Service America
bullet Lisa Miller - Agent, State Farm
bullet Hon. Samuel T. Mok - Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Labor
bullet Juan Carlos Rivera Montes - Insurance Director, Small Business Center, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
bullet Angeline Mutima - YSA Youth Venture Associate, Youth Service America
bullet Nguyen Ngoc Bich - Chair, National Congress of Vietnamese Americans
bullet Nguyen Tu Cuong - Executive Director, Vietnam Helsinki Committee
bullet Dai Q. Nguyen - Program Manager, Northern Virginia SkillSource Centers
bullet Nguyen Y Duc - Medical Doctor
bullet Ha Nguyen - Editor-in-Chief, Viet Bao Illinois
bullet Nguyen Manh Hung - Associate Professor, School of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University
bullet Khanh Nguyen - Senior Editor, Radio Free Asia
bullet Nguyen Thanh Trang - Director, Vietnam Human Rights Network
bullet Tram Nguyen - External Relations Manager, Boat People SOS
bullet Pham Boi Hoan - Retired Cameraman, CBS News
bullet Maheen Qureshi - Specialist, Freddie Mac
bullet Mary Chi Ray - President, Naturalization and Immigration Services
bullet Thomas Ray - Director, Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Defense Logistics Agency
bullet Lt. Col. Che Russell - Joint Staff, J2E-1 Division Chief
bullet Robert Sharp - Business Insurance Field Underwriter, State Farm
bullet Hon. Sichan Siv - U.S. Representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council
bullet Julie Sun - Manager - Strategic Initiatives, Freddie Mac
bullet Hon. Joel Szabat - Chief of Staff, Small Business Administration
bullet Hon. Chiling Tong - Associate Director, Minority Business Development Agency
bullet Cuong Hung Van - Pianist, Gold Winner Cincinnati World Piano Competition
bullet Vo Thanh Nhan - Executive Producer, Vietnamese American Television
 
Anne Avery
AAPI Outreach Coordinator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Anne Hyeson Avery is an AAPI Outreach Coordinator with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. In her role as an AAPI Outreach Coordinator, she established lasting relationships between CMS and the Asian-American communities delivering important Medicare program information and developing mutually beneficial partnerships. To help Asian-American Medicare Beneficiaries and their families understand the new program during the initial Medicare Enrollment period Anne was responsible for and conducted over 50 Medicare Part D workshop and presentations throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. In April 2006 she played a crucial role in a Medicare Part D event in Annandale, VA attended by the President of the United States.

Prior to her transfer to the Baltimore Central Office in 2003, Anne worked in the Kansas City CMS Regional Office as a plan manager responsible for oversight of Medicare HMO/PPO contracts with several private insurance companies.

She also served as the Vice Chairman of an AAPI special emphasis group empowered by the Federal Executive Board of Kansas City to promote Asian culture in the Federal work force, while also establishing important contacts with other Federal agencies and local government and community leaders.

Anne’s experience also includes working in Medicare’s campaign to ensure that seniors obtain Flu shots. Her efforts included translating Medicare information from English to the Korean language for programs such as Flu shot, Mammography and correspondence related to Health care reform issues.

In 1999, she conducted a workshop entitled “Close Gap” at the National Flu Conference in Dallas to demonstrate how to work effectively in and with Asian-American communities.

Before joining CMS, she was a procurement specialist with the National Cancer Institute and with U.S. Army. Born in Seoul, South Korea; Anne is a first generation Korean-American.
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Robert Bannerman
Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Commercial Service
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Robert Bannerman is a foreign service officer with the U.S. Commercial Service. For the past four years he has served as the Principal Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. He previously served as Commercial Attaché in Manila, Philippines (1998-2001) and Beijing, China (1995-98). Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Bob practiced law in Washington, D.C. (Bannerman & Spina; Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander and Ferdon) and in Seoul, Korea with the law firm of Kim & Chang (1988-93). His areas of expertise include intellectual property law enforcement, international business transactions, and international trade litigation. From 1974 to 1983 he was an attorney-advisor with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. He has a J.D. degree from the University of Minnesota Law School (1973) and a B.A. in political science from St. Olaf College (1970). He is conversant in Mandarin and Vietnamese.
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Marianne Hyang Nam Brackney
Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration
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Mrs. Marianne Hyang Nam Brackney is a National Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration (SSA) in the Office of Communications (OCOMM).

As a lead analyst on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, Aging populations, and the Medicare Prescription Drug Costs Extra Help Outreach, her assignments include conducting workshops and seminars with both national organizations and community based organizations to help increase public understanding of the Social Security programs and other initiatives.

Mrs. Brackney began working for SSA in 1996 under the Outstanding Scholars Program and was assigned as a Supplemental Security Income Claims Representative in Greenbelt, Maryland field office. Prior to joining the OCOMM in 2001, she worked as a Budget Analyst on the Regional Operations Team in the Office of Budget.

Mrs. Brackney was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to Canada at the age of 23 in 1976, and moved to the U. S. in 1982.

In 1995 at the age of 42, Mrs. Brackney received her BS degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. She also has AA degree in Hotel Management from the Montgomery Community College in Rockville, Maryland.

Mrs. Brackney has served as Vice Chair for the Maryland Governor’s 17 member Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, Government Liaison and Annual Korean Festival Program Committee Chair for the Korean Society of Maryland, Executive Director for the Centennial Committee of Korean Immigration to the United States - Greater Washington, and Delegate at Large for 2005 White House Conference on Aging. For more than fifteen years, she served the local Korean American community as Public Relations Director for the Korean Women's Club of Maryland, Membership Director of the League of Korean Americans and Vice President of the Korean Women’s Golf Association of Maryland.

Her recognition awards include South Korean Presidential Award, Maryland Governor's Citations, Commissioner’s Team Award and a Deputy Commissioner Citations from SSA and Citations from various Korean American community organizations.

She is a contributing writer for local and overseas Korean news media on various issues.
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Ambassador Bui Diem
Author/Former Vietnam Ambassador to the United States
Ambassador Bui Diem

Bui Diem is a consultant on Vietnam, author of "In the Jaws of History", and Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States from 1967 to 1972, one of the key figures in the relationship between South Vietnamese and the U.S. in this tumultuous period.

The former ambassador was born in North Vietnam, and like many of his peers, joined the nationalistic revolutionary movement against the French. After WWII, he became very involved in the Dai Viet movement, which had become a hated rival to the Viet Minh, another nationalistic movement headed by Ho Chi Minh.

From 1954 to 1963, Mr. Bui Diem spearheaded a leading English language newspaper in Vietnam, the Saigon Post. After 1965, he became more deeply immersed in Vietnam’s politics by holding a cabinet minister position under Prime Minister Phan Huy Quat, serving as special advisor for Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky, and as Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States under President Nguyen Van Thieu. He played a key role in the last desperate attempt to secure $700 million in military aid to defend South Vietnam against the North in 1975.

Today he lives in the Washington DC area with his family.

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Huy Bui
Executive Director, National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies
Huy Bui

Huy Bui is Executive Director of NAVASA since 2001. Huy has 10 years experience working with national and local refugee-led organizations, and administering large, competitive grants to grassroots CBOs and FBOs. His areas of expertise include projects in Community Empowerment, English/Civics Education, Tobacco Prevention, and After-school Tutorial Programs. In addition, Huy was involved in several research projects that focused on the acculturation of Vietnamese Americans, minorities, and stereotypes at the University of Maryland and JBL and Associates, a research firm in Bethesda, Maryland.
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James Dien Bui
Regional Director, National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies
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Mr. James Đien Bùi is Regional Director at the National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies in New Orleans, LA. In his capacity, James works with the Vietnamese American communities in the Gulf Coast region, specifically New Orleans East and East Biloxi, to develop long-term community development capacity. Recently, James worked with Mary Queen of Viet Nam parish in New Orleans East to shutdown a controversial landfill located less than one mile away from the heart of the Vietnamese American community. James has worked with other community development agencies in Boston, MA and Los Angeles, CA on affordable housing and civic engagement initiatives. He has also worked overseas in South Viet Nam and Northern India on micro-credit economic development projects. James is also adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the Asian American Studies Department.

James received his graduate certificates in real estate and economic development in 2001 from Tuft University and an MSW of Community Organizing from the University of Michigan that same year. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.A. of Educational Philosophy in 1998.
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Raul Catangui
President, Synergy Alliances
Raul Catangui

Mr. Raul G. Catangui has over 16 years of professional experience in the legislative, public policy, regulatory, campaign and legal environments, both at the state and federal levels. His experience in these specialized areas, which he acquired while working in the U.S. Congress, state legislature and the governor’s office, trade associations, Fortune 100 corporations, law firms and several political campaigns, allow him to see the “big picture” and clearly understand the confluence of issues from all perspectives – federal, state and international.

Mr. Catangui was recently the Vice President for Smartel, a technology company, and formerly the Legislative & Regulatory Counsel to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), which is the Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation on ITS. He also served as Counsel to the ITSA Trade Association, which represented ITS corporations, and the ITSA TEA-21 Reauthorization Task Force and the Transportation Export Council (TEC). He was previously the Director of Public Policy & Trade for IPC, which is the trade association for the U.S. circuit board industry. Mr. Catangui was also appointed as Special Assistant to and directed Governor Benjamin Cayetano’s (Hawaii) Washington, DC office, and worked closely with the National Governors’ Association (NGA) and intergovernmental organizations to advance the State of Hawaii’s interest in Washington. D.C. Prior to this position, he was a Legislative Assistant/Counsel to U.S. Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink, and he worked in the Hawaii State legislature for 2 sessions as a Legislative Aide to Senator Clayton H.W. Hee, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In addition, Mr. Catangui worked for nearly 3 years at Corning, Inc.’s government affairs office in Washington, D.C., and also for the international trade law firm Graham & James, LLP, Catangui & Catangui, P.C. and other prominent firms in Washington, D.C. and Hawaii. He interned at the Embassy of the Philippines, U.S. Attorney’s Office, D.C. Superior Court and the State of Hawaii Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Catangui was also the President of Rainbow Couriers & Excel Research, Inc., a company he co-owned and managed for over 3 years (which is still operating after over 20 years). He has federal & state campaign management and grassroots experience accumulated during two presidential campaigns, and previously was a Co-Campaign Manager of a state legislative re-election race.

Mr. Catangui has a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Hawaii and University of California at Irvine, graduating With High Distinction, and a Juris Doctor from the American University (AU), Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. Moreover, he completed the Masters program at AU’s School of International Studies (SIS). Mr. Catangui published and made numerous presentations on ITS, technology and transportation legislation and public policy, regulation, privacy and international trade to industry, corporations and public groups. He was recently invited to speak on location-based privacy at the ITS World Congress in Sydney, Australia, and presented at the California Alliance for Advanced Transportation Systems (CAATS) Conference in San Diego, CA. He was responsible for and initiated the creation of the ITS Congressional Caucus, which seeks to educate members of U.S. Congress & their staff and the public on ITS, transportation, telecommunications, and to promote the development and deployment of ITS. Mr. Catangui is also very active with the ITS state chapters. Mr. Catangui is a registered lobbyist with the U.S. Congress and several states. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of several private, non-profits, professional associations, and volunteers for several interest groups.

Contact info: Raul@SynergyAlliances.com.
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James Chang
Insurance Underwriter,
State Farm®
James Chang

James Chang is an insurance underwriter at State Farm's Mid-Atlantic operations center in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has been with State Farm since 1999 and is currently a member of the Fire Operations Loss Mitigation Committee. He was graduated from Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia School of Law.
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Mai Tat Dac
Former Board Chair, Vietnamese Association of Illinois
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Mai Tat Dac is an engineer and was the former Board Chair of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois.

Established in 1976, Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI) is a non-profit, community-based mutual assistance association (MAA), an agency founded by and for Vietnamese refugees. VAI's main mission is to foster the development and strength of the Vietnamese community. To fulfill this mission, VAI has grown into a multi-service agency that meets the needs of the 30,000 community members living in Illinois. Located in the Uptown neighborhood where most newly arrived refugees live, VAI provides free bilingual social services that address the unique needs of its constituency. For over two decades, VAI has initiated both innovative and demonstrative programs to meet the evolving needs of refugees and immigrants in Illinois, assisting thousands of families in improving their lives through increased community involvement and a commitment to self-sufficiency.
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Mike Eastman
Vice President/Senior Loan Officer, First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation
Mike Eastman

Mike has been in the Real Estate and Mortgage Industry for over 28 years. Mike has sold real estate, managed and owned real estate offices, served as President of a Real Estate and Financial services firm, hosted a talk radio program on matters of real estate and finance and currently assists his clients with financing the American Dream.

He resides in Fairfax Station Virginia with his wife Kathy and his 3 children.

Some community activities have included: Chairman of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors Grievance Committee, Child Help USA-A charity for victims of child abuse, Rotary International, and many more.
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The Honorable David Englin
House of Delegates, Commonwealth of Virginia
The Honorable David Englin

David Englin is currently serving his first term in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 45th District, which includes parts of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax. He serves on the House Privileges and Elections Committee, the House Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee, and on special joint subcommittees to improve math, science, and technology education and to increase telework opportunities.

In March of 2006, The Hotline, an online publication of the National Journal, listed David as one of the top nine new up-and-coming stars in Virginia politics. Following David's freshman legislative session, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters named him a "Legislative Hero" for his work on environmental issues, and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia recognized David for leadership in defense of reproductive freedom.

David was born and raised on military bases overseas, where his mother, who was a single parent, taught elementary school in the Department of Defense public school system. David joined the U.S. Air Force when he was 17 years old, earned a Bachelor of Science in History from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and then earned a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

During his military service, David managed a wide range of issues, from sensitive and politically-charged public safety and environmental programs, to supporting the needs of military families, to building bridges between the military and local community and business organizations. David was on duty inside the Pentagon when it was attacked on September 11, 2001, and he deployed overseas as the chief of public affairs for the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing conducting counter-genocide and peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. Before being honorably discharged in May 2004, David helped establish and eventually directed a service-wide program to assist the families and civilian employers of National Guard and Reserve airmen.

As his military career was coming to a close, David, his wife, Shayna, and their son, Caleb, put down roots in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood, where David became active in the civic and political life of the city. In June 2005, in his first bid for elected office, David won a competitive six-way primary for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Delegate Marian Van Landingham, who had held the seat for 24 years. In November 2005, David won the 45th District seat with nearly 68 percent of the vote against a Republican opponent.

When he's not fighting for the interests of his constituents, David is a stay-at-home parent and freelance writer and consultant.
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Jared Genser
President, Freedom Now
Jared Genser

Jared Genser is the President of Freedom Now and an attorney in a major international law firm. Through Freedom Now, he has previously represented and helped secure the release of several high profile human rights activists in Vietnam including Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly and Dr. Nguyen Dan Que. Freedom Now has also been representing Dr. Pham Hong Son, who was recently released from prison in Vietnam.

In 2005, Jared led a team of lawyers at his law firm commissioned by former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Bishop Desmond Tutu to produce a report entitled Threat to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma. Previously, Jared was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, the global strategy consulting firm. Jared holds a B.S. from Cornell University, a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he was an Alumni Public Service Fellow, and a J.D., cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. In addition to being qualified to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia, Jared is also a Solicitor of England and Wales. He has published op-eds on human rights topics in such publications as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal Asia, International Herald Tribune, and Washington Times.
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Daniel Hatcher
Manager of Outreach, Youth Service America
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Daniel Hatcher is the Manager of Outreach for Youth Service America (YSA). In this role Daniel is responsible for supporting YSA's outreach activities, helping to manage existing partnerships, and seeking out new partnerships. He is also responsible for managing YSA's Youth Voice Initiative, which includes managing YSA's National Youth Council, bringing the Youth Voice Initiative to scale, and initiating and supporting efforts to make Youth Voice a community principle. Daniel is a graduate of Western Kentucky University where he obtained his Master's of Public Health, as well as a BA in International Relations. Daniel has a passion for engaging all people - young and old - from every part of the globe, in service to others.
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The Honorable Mark Herring
Senator, Commonwealth of Virginia
Senator Mark Herring

Mark Herring is widely recognized as a civic and political leader in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. He has lived most of his life in Loudoun County and the Leesburg area.

Mark holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia in economics and foreign affairs. After graduating with honors from the University of Richmond School of Law, he established a successful law practice in Leesburg. He has been a strong advocate for economic development and road improvements that bring jobs and transportation solutions to citizens while not encouraging over-development that puts stress on schools, traffic and costs of governmental services.

Mark was elected to the state Senate in a special election on January 31, 2000, and serves on the Senate General Laws and Technology, Local Government, and Rehabilitation and Social Services Committees.

As a community leader, Mark is the campaign chair for the United Way campaign in Loudoun County, and formerly a co-host of the local cable public affairs television show, Focus Loudoun. Mark is a member of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, Leesburg Kiwanis Club, Keep Loudoun Beautiful, Loudoun County Bar Association, NAACP – Loudoun Chapter, Olive Branch Lodge #114 and Alexandria Scottish Rite.

Mark and his wife, Laura, have been married for 17 years. They have two children, Peyton and Tim, ages 13 and 10.
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The Honorable Michael Honda
U.S. House of Representatives
Congressman Mike Honda

Mike Honda represents the 15th Congressional District of California in the U.S. House of Representatives. His district encompasses the area known throughout the world as Silicon Valley, the birthplace of technology innovation and the leading region for the development of the technologies of tomorrow. Mike has been a public servant for decades during which he has been lauded for his work on education, transportation, civil rights, the environment, and the high-tech community.

Mike was born in California, but spent his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. His family returned to California in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in Blossom Valley in San Jose.

In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served in the Peace Corps for two years, where he built schools and health clinics in El Salvador. Mike returned from the Peace Corps with a passion for teaching, and fluent in Spanish.

Mike earned bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and Spanish, and a master's degree in Education from San Jose State University. In his career as an educator, Mike was a science teacher, served as a principal at two public schools and conducted educational research at Stanford University.

In 1971, Mike was appointed by San Jose Mayor Norm Mineta to San Jose's Planning Commission. In 1981, Mike won his first election, gaining a seat on the San Jose Unified School Board.

In 1990, Mike was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. As a Supervisor, Mike led efforts to establish the Open Space Authority, whose mission is the preservation of open space. He also took the lead in women's health care issues such as raising awareness of breast cancer, and convening a women's health conference. He passed landmark welfare reforms that have saved millions of dollars for the county.

Mike was elected to the California Assembly in 1996 and was re-elected in 1998. As an Assemblymember, Mike worked with Governor Gray Davis to draft landmark education reforms - including smaller class size and increases in teachers' benefits. As Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, Mike worked to pass sensible gun safety legislation to keep guns out of the hands of juveniles and voted to ban assault weapons. Mike was awarded "High-Tech Legislator of the Year" by the American Electronics Association for his strong advocacy for the high-tech economy. He fought for legislation to augment the research and development tax credit and worked to eliminate taxes on graduate school tuition paid by employers.

In 2000, Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Mike serves the House Committee on Science, and on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

Mike is dedicated to passing a responsible budget that pays down our national debt, and revitalizes our economy, while protecting top priorities such as Social Security, Medicare, and public education. As a member of the influential Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Mike is working hard to make sure the Silicon Valley gets its fair share of federal transportation funding to make the daily commute safer and more efficient for the residents of our fast-growing region.

As a Congressman for Silicon Valley, Mike is taking a leading role in bringing Democrats and Republicans together to better understand technology issues. In this vein, Mike has formed a bi-partisan Wireless Task Force to enable Congress to better understand and support innovative technologies for next generation wireless deployment.

Mike has been selected by his Democratic colleagues to serve as the Regional Whip for Northern California, Hawaii, American Samoa and Guam. As Regional Whip, Mike works with the Democratic Leadership by communicating legislative priorities and strategies to members within his region. Mike also serves as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and continues to be a strong voice for the cause of social justice, cultural tolerance, and civil rights.

Mike is married and has two grown children. His wife, Jeanne, was a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San Jose before her untimely passing in 2004. His son, Mark, is an aerospace engineer and Michelle, his daughter, is a public health educator.”
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Angie Ngoc Hoquang
Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration
Angie Ngoc Hoquang

Angie Hoquang serves as a Public Affairs Specialist for Area 5 of the Dallas Region of the Social Security Administration. In this capacity she is responsible for the public information, education, and outreach efforts for the SSA, targeting the underserved and hard-to-reach populations in the Area.

Angie joined the SSA as a claims representative in 1991 following a 5-years tenure as the Dallas Director of Texas Training & Employment Center, where she had successfully managed a multicultural staff of 20 in providing job training and job placement for thousands of newly arrived refugees in Dallas.

During her 13-years tenure as a Claims Representative, Angie was instrumental in creating an outreach program targeting the underserved and hard-to-reach Asian populations through live talk shows on ethnic Asian radios and newspapers articles and community presentations. Angie has continuously managed to keep a full work load and squeezed in the time to do the community outreach. These efforts have resulted in her earning the highest SSA award- the Commissioner Citation and numerous local and regional awards for world class services.

Angie regularly contributes articles on SSA topics published by the Texas Herald, the Vietnamese Ca Dao Magazine, The Korean Times, and The Chinese Newspapers. Her radio talk show has expanded to include national networks such as Radio Bolsa (California) and Dai Tieng Nuoc Toi (Washington D.C.).

Angie came to the United States in 1984 with her parents as a refugee from Vietnam, where she was awarded a Bachelor‘s degree in childhood education and worked as a kindergarten school teachers’ trainer for several years. Angie currently serves on the Board of the Asian American Forum, the Girl Scout Board, the Dallas Area Agency on Aging and the Medical City Dallas Advisory Board. She is also an officer of the AAPI work group of SSA.

Angie and her husband, Walter, have two children; Vinh and Danh.
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Juli Huynh
Corporate Recruitment Program Manager, U.S. Department of Transportation
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Juli Huynh serves as a Corporate Recruitment Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She formerly worked on Capitol Hill as Congressional staff. Juli began her career in the federal workforce as a PMI - Presidential Management Intern.
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Nghi Huynh
President/CEO, World Developers Group and Publisher, Asian American Press
Nghi Si Huynh, Asian American Press

Nghi Huynh is the Founder and CEO of the Asian Business & Community Publishing, Inc. (ABC Publishing), which is composed of two distinct branches. The publishing group produces the Asian American Press, a weekly newspaper, and the Asian Business & Community Directory, an annual phonebook. The second branch of ABC Publishing, Inc. is ABC Consulting Services, a business development agency.

A very active member of the community, Mr. Huynh is currently serving as President of the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. A past member of the National Board of Directors of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Mr. Huynh also held the position of Vice President of the Minnesota chapter of AAJA.

Mr. Huynh arrived in the United States in 1975 as a refugee and began a new life in Minnesota. Although he had journalistic training and experience in his native Vietnam, upon his arrival in Minnesota, Mr. Huynh returned to school to pursue a degree in electrical engineering. Before his graduation from the University of Minnesota in 1980, Mr. Huynh served as Student Representative for the university’s Senate, and founded and directed an Asian American Cultural Center. He also received the university’s student leadership and service award each of his four years study.

Along with his full-time job as Publisher and Editor for the Asian American Press and ABC Directory, Mr. Huynh also manages ABC Consulting Services. He also devotes his time to many community projects, particularly in real estate and media developments.

At a recent Asian Appreciation Banquet, Mr. Huynh was recognized with an award for his outstanding service and involvement, both within and beyond the Asian community.
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Kimquy Kieu, MD, MPH
Medical Officer, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Division of Quality Improvement
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Kimquy Kieu currently serves as a Medical Officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Division of Quality Improvement, which has jurisdictional responsibilities in 13 Western States. She provides technical and clinical support for 13 QIO (Quality Improvement Organization) contracts in 4 settings: hospitals, nursing homes, home health & physician offices. She also serves as regional lead in the Medicare Beneficiary Protection Program.

Born in Vietnam in 1956, she came to the U.S. in May 1975 and completed her medical training at the University of California in San Diego. She comes from a broad background that includes clinical anesthesiology, environmental health and population health. Her passion is to learn and understand the different models & approaches to prevention and healing.

Kimquy is a licensed physician in the states of California and Washington, and is board certified in Public Health & General Preventive Medicine.
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The Honorable Vivek Kundra
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Commonwealth of Virginia
The Honorable Vivek Kundra

Vivek Kundra is currently the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia, he was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine in January of 2006. Prior to joining Governor Kaine’s Cabinet, he was the CEO of Creostar, a company focused on cyber security and information warfare. Kundra served as the Vice-President of Marketing for Evincible Software, a technology startup that enabled trusted transactions for the government and the financial sector, which was sold to Exostar. Prior to that, he was the Director of IT for Arlington, VA, where he was responsible for the government’s strategic technology initiatives and focused on protecting critical national assets under homeland security. He also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland teaching classes on emerging and disruptive technologies.

Before joining Arlington he was with SAIC, consulting at the Health and Human Services (HHS) focusing on growing SAIC's $1 Billion business at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to SAIC Mr. Kundra was the CEO of eRush.com a startup in next generation bot technologies. He is actively involved in the political process at the local, state, and national level.

Vivek Kundra has worked on the World Cities Alliance initiative to advance business and economic development in Arlington, Zurich, Paris, Berlin, and Wales. Within the private sector, he worked with multiple clients to build operations in the United States, Canada, and India.

He received his Masters in Information Technology and his Bachelors in Psychology and Biology from the University of Maryland.
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Ngoan Le
Senior Program Officer, Chicago Community Trust

Ngoan Le is presently the Senior Program Officer for Basic Human Needs at the Chicago Community Trust. Prior to this position, Ngoan served as the Special Assistant to Mayor Daley on Homelessness. In this position she coordinated the City Inter-Agency Task Force on Homelessness and co-chaired the Chicago Continuum of Care, a consortium of over 200 public and private homeless stakeholders.

Ngoan has spent many years working in the field of human services. She was the Managing Deputy Commissioner/Chief Program Officer of the Chicago Department of Human Services. Prior to the reorganization in 2003, the Chicago Department of Human Services provided the social service safety net for Chicago residents through Children Services, Youth Development Program, Homeless and Domestic Violence Services, Crisis Intervention and Economic Development.

Before coming to city government, Ngoan spent over ten years working for the State of Illinois. She served as the Assistant to the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Deputy Administrator for the Division of Planning and Community Services of the Illinois Department of Public Aid and Special Assistant to the Governor for Asian American Affairs.

A refugee from Vietnam who came to the U.S. in 1975, Ngoan served as the executive director of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois, a refugee community based organization, for nine years. She built this all volunteer organization into a nationally-known community based comprehensive social service agency providing assistance to newly arrived refugees from Southeast Asia.

Ngoan has served on the Board of Directors of numerous local and national organizations seeking to improve the quality of life for immigrants and low income individuals. Ngoan was appointed by President Clinton in May of 2000 as one of the fifteen community leaders to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She was the only Vietnamese included in President Clinton’s official delegation to visit Vietnam in November 2000.

Ngoan Le received many recognition and awards for her work including the “1991 Recognition for Outstanding Contributions to the U.S.” given by the U.S. Ambassador for Refugee Affairs Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious and the “1989 - Crain’s Chicago Business, 40 Under 40 most dynamic civic and business leaders in Chicago”.

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Jimmy Lee
Executive Director, The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Jimmy Lee

Mr. Jimmy D. Lee, Chicago was appointed by President George W. Bush on January, 2006 to serve as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Office of the White House Initiative was established under Executive Order 13339 to increase economic opportunities and improve the quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through greater participation in federal programs where they may be underserved.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Lee was a Commissioner on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and serve as Executive Director of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a Board Member for the Asian American Alliance, a small business development center dedicated to improving and expanding business opportunities in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the State of Illinois. Mr. Lee previously served as the Assistant to the Governor for Asian American Affairs.

Mr. Lee is a strong advocate of community service and working with the youth of the community. He serves on a number of boards and commissions around the country and is an active youth group leader for his church in Chicago where he still goes back weekly to mentor and be a youth counselor for 150 students.
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Sherri Ly
Reporter, WTTG/FOX 5 News

Sherri Ly joined WTTG/FOX 5 as a reporter in September 2002. You will see her reporting on Channel 5 at 10pm weeknights. Since coming to Washington she has covered a wide range of stories, most notably the sniper shootings in October. She is one of a number of reporters who contributed to the station’s sniper coverage, earning Channel 5 a National Edward R. Murrow Award for its reporting.

Prior to coming to Washington, DC, Sherri worked as a reporter and anchor in the Los Angeles area and San Francisco. She traveled across the state, reporting from wildfires in the Sequoia National Forest to snowstorms in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. When not on the road, she also spent much of her time covering political issues. Her five part investigation into California’s mandatory drug treatment law brought attention to substance abuse and sparked debate about the legal system. In Orange County, CA Sherri also covered demonstrations in Little Saigon, when thousands protested the communist Vietnam flag and a picture of Ho Chi Minh at a video store.

Sherri’s mother is Vietnamese. She was born in Okinawa, Japan and grew up in Florida. In her spare time she enjoys sports, traveling and spending time with her husband and family.
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Julie Mancuso
Grants Manager, Youth Service America
Julie Mancuso

Julie Mancuso serves as the Grant Manager. In this role, Julie helps to administer the grants and awards program to increase opportunities for youth and youth-related organizations to plan and execute successful service and service-learning projects. Past grant and award programs include the State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant; DisneyHand Minnie Grants; the Clay Aiken ABLE To SERVE grant; the prestigious Harris Wofford Awards; and many more from America’s Promise, AT&T, Verizon, Motorola, and others.

Julie began at Youth Service America as a Project Assistant helping to manage National and Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the world. Prior to her work with YSA, she served as a Faculty Advisor and Student Relations Advisor for the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference and the Jr. National Young Leaders Conference held in Washington, DC.

As a champion for youth volunteering, Julie has given her time globally as a volunteer in both Europe and Africa, advocating for youth orphaned by AIDS; endangered sea turtles in the Mediterranean; and persons with disabilities in the UK. Domestically, Julie has volunteered as a youth dance instructor, respite care provider, visitor to the homebound and conversation partner to international students.

Julie received her BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and African Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is a native of North Carolina.

She can be reached at jmancuso@ysa.org.
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Elizabeth McCausland
Partner, Cooney, Mattson, Lance, Blackburn, Richards, and O'Connor P.A.
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Elizabeth McCausland is a partner in the law firm of Cooney, Mattson, Lance, Blackburn, Richards, and O’Connor P.A. She practices general civil litigation and insurance law in Orlando, Florida. Mrs. McCausland is currently the President Elect of the Orange County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section and is a representative of the Florida Bar Board of Governors Young Lawyers Division.
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Tara R. Miles
Director, BizLaunch, Arlington Economic Development
Tara Miles

Tara R. Miles is the Director of BizLaunch, Arlington's Small Business Assistance Network in Arlington County, Virginia. Ms. Miles initiated the BizLaunch program in 2002 to help entrepreneurs successfully grow and expand their businesses in the County. Since its inception the program has outreached to over 6,000 business owners through sponsored workshops, seminars, and one-on-one counseling sessions.

Ms. Miles has over 15 years of experience in Marketing and Business Development at a variety of firms: a health maintenance organization, an IT software developer, a financial institution and a uranium enricher - before joining Arlington County in 2001. In 2004 she received Arlington's Best Business Award (ABBIES) for her steadfast contribution to the small business community. She also received the 2005 Small Business Advocate Award by the Arlington Small Business Development Center. Ms. Miles was recently named the 2006 Minority Small Business Champion of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Ms. Miles holds a Bachelor's of Art Degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in Political Science and Journalism. She also holds a Masters of Science in Marketing Communications from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
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Cassandra Miller
Field Manager, Youth Service America
Cassandra Miller

Cassandra Miller serves as the Field Manager for National Youth Service Day. Every year in April, millions of young people and adults worldwide participate in community service projects in celebration of National & Global Youth Service Day (N&GYSD). The goals of National & Global Youth Service Day are to mobilize youth to identify and address the needs of their communities through service, support youth on a life-long path of service and civic engagement, and educate the public, the media, and elected officials about the year-round contributions of youth as community leaders.

As the Field Manager, Cassandra is responsible for mobilizing organizations at the local and state level to serve as Lead Agencies for National & Global Youth Service Day. She recruits, trains and supports local/state non-profits, school districts, faith-based organizations, and other organizations to assemble coalitions of agencies and individuals to plan and coordinate large-scale N&GYSD events, engaging anywhere from several hundred to 50,000 volunteers per Lead Agency.

After attending Indiana University, she served two years as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Washington, DC. As a first year corps member Cassandra was the Research and Systematic Learning/Service Director for the AOL Civic Engagement Team. As a member of the team she planned and implemented monthly service projects that united community volunteers to paint, clean, and revitalize DC schools, parks, and community centers. In her first year Cassandra also served as an Executive Director of Camp City Year, a week long camp that provides a safe, fun, and enriching environment for 1st through 5th grade students in the Washington metro area.

In her second year Cassandra served as the Civic Leadership and Program Senior Corps member. In this position Cassandra was responsible for creating and overseeing bi-weekly leadership development days that promoted civic knowledge and responsibility. Since she was a child Cassandra has been involved in service in one way or another and her passion for volunteerism continues at YSA.
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Lisa Miller
Agent, State Farm
Lisa Miller

Lisa Miller is a Registered Agent with State Farm since 1992. Her offices are located in Northern Virginia.  Her office provides services in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and French.

Lisa is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a BA in English and minor in French. She taught herself Spanish through the Berlitz language program. Lisa a member of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, Legion of Honor, Millionaire Club Qualifier and National Convention Qualifier.
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The Honorable Samuel T. Mok
Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Labor
Samuel Mok

On January 25, 2002, Samuel Tinsing Mok was confirmed by the Senate to be the Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Labor. He served as Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, appointed by former Treasury Secretary James Baker. While there, he implemented many management control programs to enhance financial reporting and control.

Prior to joining the Labor Department, Mr. Mok served as the Managing Member of Condor Consulting, LLC, a Washington, DC-based international consulting firm. His expertise lies in providing and leveraging business and government contacts for American companies interested in the Asian market. Other aspects of Mr. Mok's practice included assisting American businesses that sought information on prospective business partners in Asia and facilitating meetings for American corporate executives who wished to establish contacts with senior Asian embassy officials in Washington, DC.

Mr. Mok's professional career spans both the American private and public sectors. In the private sector, Mr. Mok began his career as an auditor with Main & Hurdman (now KPMG Peat Marwick) and later served as a Senior Auditor with Parnell Kerr & Forster. In 1971, he was called to active military duty. As a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he served in Okinawa, Japan as a strategic intelligence officer overseeing reporting and analysis on China, Vietnam, and North Korea. Upon being promoted to the rank of Captain, he was reassigned to Army Readiness Region 1, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

In 1976, Mr. Mok resigned his Army commission and reentered the private sector as the Director of Accounting at Time-Life Books. Six years later, in 1982, he accepted an offer from U.S. News & World Report and eventually became the Corporate Treasurer. In 1986, he served as a Foreign Service Officer at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. A year later, Mr. Mok became a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service and was appointed Comptroller of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Shortly thereafter, he was re-appointed as the Treasury's Chief Financial Officer. During his six-year tenure at the Treasury, Mr. Mok was also appointed by then President George H.W. Bush to serve on the National Advisory Council on Public Service. In 1992, Mr. Mok left federal service and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of G.L. Associates, a New York-based business systems consulting firm. Four years later, Mr. Mok went on to found his own international trade consulting practice in collaboration with retired U.S. Senator Birch Bayh.

Mr. Mok received his M.A. in Auditing from Catholic University in 1982. He earned his B.S. in Accounting from Fordham University in 1968. He also graduated from the U.S. Army Institute of Administration at Fort Benjamin Harrison and from the U.S. Foreign Service Institute in Rosslyn, Virginia. Mr. Mok speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Government Financial Manager. Additionally, Mr. Mok has undergone extensive formal training in cultural diversity instruction at the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of State.

Mr. Mok has served in various capacities for numerous community and government organizations, including Trustee of the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI); Treasurer of AFSA (American Foreign Service Association) a labor union for U.S. foreign service officers at the Department of State; and Chairperson of the National Conference of Community & Justice (formerly known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews) in the Washington, DC area. In addition, Mr. Mok has frequently lectured around the country on diversity issues and formerly provided seminars to various federal agencies and senior executives of major U.S. corporations. He is a former Chapter President of the Association of Government Accountants. Mr. Mok is also a former Chapter President and National Vice President of the Organization of Chinese Americans and a founding member of the Federal Asian Pacific American Council.

In 2006 Mr. Mok is the recipient of the prestigious Donald L. Scantlebury Memorial Award for Distinguished Leadership in Financial Management Improvement and was named one of the top 100 executives from government, industry, and academia of the "Federal 100" who had the greatest impact on the government information systems. In 2005, he was the recipient of the Distinguished National Leadership Award by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) to formally recognize elected or presidentially-appointed federal officials who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in federal financial management. Mr. Mok was appointed to serve on the Republic of the Marshall Islands Trust Fund Committee by the Secretary of the Interior. He serves on the General Administration Board for the United States Department of Agriculture Graduate School, and was recently elected to be a Fellow for the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Mr. Mok serves on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Advisory Council on Government Audit Standards, the Board of Trustees for the AGA Academy for Government Accountability and the Asian American Government Executives Network (AAGEN) Advisory Board.

He has served as deputy mayor of Chinatown, Washington, D.C., and in top leadership positions of most major Asian-American community organizations in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Mok and his wife, Nancy, reside in Maryland. They are the proud parents of two grown children, both attorneys, and five grandchildren who also reside in the Washington, D.C. area.
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Juan Carlos Rivera Montes
Insurance Director, Small Business Center, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
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Juan Carlos Rivera Montes has more than fifteen years of international experience in Latin America working as a Regional Director, Senior Advisor, and International Consultant to corporations, multilateral institutions, and government agencies.

Before joining OPIC in 2000, Juan Carlos served as a senior director and chief operations officer (COO) for Meso-American Investments, LLC (MAI), a firm located in Denver, Colorado, focusing in the evaluation and development of conventional and renewable energy projects around the world. From 1996-1998, Juan Carlos served as Regional Director for Latin American Programs while at AATA International, Inc. He was responsible for business development and project management for environmental consulting services to oil and gas, mining, energy, and water utility corporations with infrastructure projects and operations in Latin America. As a project manager, he was responsible for the environmental permitting, management, and baseline studies for Mobil’s Cerro Negro $3.2 billion extra heavy oil project, the $350 million light crude La Ceiba project in Venezuela, and several other infrastructure projects in Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Honduras.

From 1991-1995, Juan Carlos served as the Executive Director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Office of the Government of Honduras in the United States. His investment promotion efforts under this office allocated more than US $60 million into the Honduran economy. Prior to that, he worked under the United Nations Development Program as a Senior Advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources of Honduras. In this position, he served as leader of an inter institutional commission charged to coordinate all policy development efforts in the mineral, energy, and environmental sectors of the Honduran economy. He also authored the design, elaboration, executive coordination, congressional lobbying, and promotion of legislation to promote foreign investment to the country. As an International Consultant, Juan Carlos has performed assignments for the IADB, the World Bank, the BRGM (France), Samsonite Corporation, International Methane Company (Canada), and the Honduran Foundation for Investment and Development of Exports (FIDE) among others.

Juan Carlos received a degree in geological engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and an MBA in international finance and marketing from the Jesuit Regis University in Denver, Colorado. He received certified professional training from the BRGM in France, the Swedish Geological Survey, and the World Trade Centers in Dallas and Denver. He holds graduate certificate programs in International Finance from Georgetown University and Housing Finance from Fannie Mae in Washington DC. Additional training includes technical certificates in geographic information systems (GIS), remediation, reclamation technologies, water and wastewater treatment, and renewable energy.
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Angeline Mutima
YSA Youth Venture Associate, Youth Service America
Angeline Mutima

N/Angeline Mutima is an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service to America) serving as the Youth Service America/Youth Venture Partnership Associate. The YSA/Youth Venture Program provides start-up funding, support and resources to young social entrepreneurs (ages 12-20).

Angeline's main responsibilities include: implementing & managing the YV/YSA application cycles, identifying & pursuing fundraising opportunities, identifying special opportunities (scholarships, awards, speaking opportunities, media recognition, opportunities for collaboration) for YSA Venture teams, supporting & aiding YSA/Youth Venture award recipients to ensure the success of their Venture, supporting & being a resource for other Youth Venture staff and VISTAs as well as YSA staff. Angeline works very closely with YSA/Youth Venture award recipients to ensure the successful implementation, maintenance and longevity of their ventures.

As a recent graduate of Oregon State University, Angeline majored in Business Administration, with an Option in Marketing, and a Minor in Multimedia. On campus she was involved with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Black Student Union, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Oregon State University's Kaleidoscope Program, Black Connect, Minority Education Office, and Student Support Services Tutoring Program. Growing up in Oregon, Angeline has always been involved in community service, whether it was her school's bake sales or community after school programs. Angeline has always been inclined to work in her community because she truly believe that effort you put into serving your community is not even close to the outcomes of your service. In college, she even joined a Sorority that focuses primarily on public service.

Angeline's interests include: Black issues, music, computer technology, public service, reading, dancing, and shopping. She hopes to someday own and run a magazine with wholesome content for Black, female teenagers.

For more information on the YSA/Youth Venture Program, please visit www.youthventure.org/ysa.
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Nguyen Ngoc Bich
Board Chair, National Congress of Vietnamese Americans
Board Chair Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Nguyen Ngoc Bich is the immediate past Director of the Vietnamese Service at Radio Free Asia (RFA). Born in Hanoi, Vietnam, and educated in Saigon, the United States, Japan and Europe, Mr. Bich is fluent in seven languages. He came to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship as an undergraduate student and received his B.A. from Princeton University (Political Science, 1958). He did graduate work in Asian studies at Columbia University (1959-65), Japanese literature at Kyoto University (1962-63), bilingual education and theoretical linguistics at Georgetown University (1980-85).

As an educator, Nguyen Ngoc Bich has taught at university level both in Vietnam and in the United States. Since coming to the U.S. in 1975, he has taught adult education, elementary school and high school in Arlington, Virginia, then at the university level at Trinity College, George Mason University (where he taught Vietnamese Literature and Vietnamese Culture and Civilization), and Georgetown University (where he was a teacher trainer in Bilingual and Multicultural Education). Together with his wife, Dr. Dao Thi Hoi, a linguist and ESL specialist, he was one of a group of educators who in 1979 founded NAVAE (National Association for Vietnamese American Education), the ancestor of NAFEA (National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans). Mr. Bich was the third president of NAVAE, which he headed from 1984 to 1986. Widely recognized for his work in education, he was appointed by President Bush to the post of Deputy Director, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs (aka OBEMLA), at the U.S. Department of Education, where he served under Secretary Lamar Alexander from 1991 to 1993.

Mr. Bich is Chairman, Board of Directors, of Boat People S.O.S., Inc. a community service organization located in Falls Church, VA. He was also the founder of National News Service, which provides news of interest to readers of Vietnamese language newspapers worldwide, and one of the founding members of NCVA (National Congress of Vietnamese in America, formed in 1986). He is the author of a number of publications on Vietnam, including An Annotated Atlas of the Republic of Vietnam (1972), North Vietnam: Backtracking on Socialism (1971) and Literature Under Communism in Vietnam (under press). But he is best known as a translator and writer on the arts. The author of The Poetry of Vietnam (Asia Society of New York, 1969), A Thousand Years of Vietnamese Poetry (Knopf, 1975), he also edited War and Exile: A Vietnamese Anthology (Vietnamese PEN, 1989) and translated two collections of poetry coming from the pen of Nguyen Chi Thien, Hoa Dia Nguc / The Flowers of Hell and Hat Mau Tho / Blood Seeds Become Poetry (both published in 1996).

In the field of art and music, he co-authored (with his wife, Dr. Dao Thi Hoi) a bilingual collection of Christmas carols (1975) and translated a book on Vietnamese Architecture (1972). More recently, he has translated Truong Anh Thuy’s Truong Ca Loi Me Ru / A Mother’s Lullaby (1989); had a hand in doing a photography book by Tran Cao Linh, Vietnam, My Country Forever (Aide à l’Enfance du Vietnam, 1988), the catalogue of a traveling exhibition of Vietnamese and Vietnamese American paintings, An Ocean Apart (Smithsonian, 1996), the book Thai Tuan: Selected Paintings and Essays (VAALA, 1996); and has completed a comprehensive history on Seven Thousand Years of Vietnamese Ceramics (under press). His edition of the complete works of the poetess Ho Xuan Huong (ca. 1770-1835) was published in 2000 to wide acclaim. His most recent publication (2002) is Omar Khayyam – Rubaiyat: Tho va Doi, a study of the famous eleventh-century Persian poet-astronomer-philosopher and his world-renowned poetry collection made famous by Edward Fitzgerald’s English translation.

Prior to joining RFA (in January 1997), Mr. Bich has worked for 13 years as a Vietnamese-language Program Director for WHFS 103.4 FM and WPFW 89.3 FM in Washington, DC. Because of his varied background and mastery of many aspects of Vietnamese culture, he is a much sought-after lecturer nationwide, on college campuses, at national and international conferences.

As a world-renowned translator from and into Vietnamese, Mr. Bich is also often asked to do simultaneous translation for international conferences and in public courts of law.
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Nguyen Tu Cuong
Executive Director, Vietnam Helsinki Committee
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Cuong Nguyen is Executive Director of Vietnam Helsinki Committee, a Washington DC based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting human rights for Vietnam. Over the years, he has served on the boards of several organizations which advocate refugee and immigrant rights.
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Dai Q. Nguyen
Program Manager of Employment and Training, One-Stop / SkillSource Center
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Dai Nguyen is the Program Manager of Employment and Training for Fairfax County and in this role, he directs the One-Stop operations for the Northern Virginia Workforce Investment Area. This region is one of the largest workforce areas in the Commonwealth of Virginia with over 1.5 million residents and thousands of businesses in the counties of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and the cities therein.

Mr. Nguyen works with businesses, community and faith based organizations, educational institutions and other workforce agencies to develop and manage the network of One-Stop Centers for this region, known as SkillSource. The SkillSource Centers provide employment solutions to businesses and delivers placement and training services to job seekers.

Mr. Nguyen has worked in public service over the last 15 years and has managed a number of award winning employment programs. He has been personally recognized by President George W. Bush, Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao and the Department of Labor for managing effective programs.
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Nguyen Y Duc, MD
Medical Doctor
Nguyen Y Duc

Nguyen Y Duc received received his MD from the University of Saigon in 1963 and specializes in Geriatrics. He is a health advisor to the Martin L. King Foundation is a member of the American Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine and the American Association of Retired People (AARP). Dr. Nguyen has published numerous articles and appears regularly in Vietnamese media.
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Ha Nguyen
Editor-in-Chief, Viet Bao Illinois
Ha Nguyen

Ha Nguyen is a Certified Public Accountant and former Director of the Vietnamese Service Center in Chicago. He is currently editor-in-chief of Viet Bao Illinois ("The Vietnamese Journal of Illinois").
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Nguyen Manh Hung
Associate Professor, School of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University
Nguyen Manh Hung

Nguyen Manh Hung is associate professor of Public and Internatio