Who We Are

About

The Vietnamese American Roundtable (VAR) is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. VAR is composed of young professionals and representatives from various Vietnamese American community groups who works collaboratively to research, promote, and support joint programs and projects to benefit the local community.

Our Staff

  • PHILIP NGUYỄN

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Philip Nguyễn is the Executive Director of the Vietnamese American Roundtable (VAR). After graduating from UC Berkeley with B.A. degrees in Ethnic Studies and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, he earned his M.A. degree in Asian American Studies from the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, where he teaches courses on Vietnamese American Literature and the History of the Vietnamese in the US. He has been involved with community-based organizations dedicated to amplifying and advocating for Asian American, Southeast Asian American, and Vietnamese American voices to the forefront through his involvement with the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network, the Progressive Vietnamese American Organization, and the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations.

  • HUÂN PHẠM

    OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

    Born and raised in San Jose, CA, Huan Pham is a second-generation Vietnamese-American. He obtained a degree in Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University and has been involved in volunteering efforts with multiple Bay Area community-based organizations including Asian Americans for Community Involvement. In 2020, Huan joined Asian Law Alliance as the Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator to help low-income communities of color gain equal access to the legal system. Now as VAR's newest Operations and Development Manager, Huan seeks to build and support programs to advocate for diasporic Vietnamese-Americans.

  • NGUYÊN PHẠM

    COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND OUTREACH PROGRAM COORDINATOR

    Growing up in Saigon, Vietnam, Nguyên came to the U.S. at the age of 17 and moved to San Jose in 2010. Nguyên joined Vietnamese American Roundtable in October, 2021 as the part-time Community Organizing and Outreach Program Coordinator. Nguyên also works at the City of San Jose’s Office of Economic Development. He plays a critical role in the City’s Cannabis Equity Business Academy effort, the Rent Relief Small Business grant program role, the City’s 2020 Census outreach effort, the 2020 Silicon Valley Strong Business Grants program, the 2021 Mayor’s Resilience Corps employment initiative, etc. During his free time, Nguyên serves the unhoused residents of San Jose by providing them with hot meals, personal hygiene items, COVID-19 vaccine info, and housing resources. Nguyên also leads a scholarship project that provides visually impaired students in Vietnam with employment and education opportunities.

  • ANH NGUYỄN

    COMMUNITY BUILDING PROGRAMS ADVOCATE

  • CANDICE PHAN

    CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS ASSOCIATE

    Candice Phan began her VAR journey with the 2021 SEEDS Summer Youth Program. As a mentee, she connected with the VAR staff and board while learning about the Vietnamese American culture and political landscape. After staying in touch and volunteering with VAR, she arrived one summer later no longer a mentee but as VAR’s first official intern. During her internship, Candice curated cultural educational workshops for the 2022 SEEDS program, coordinated bilingual civic engagement efforts for the 2022 elections, and managed VAR’s social media. Now as VAR’s Civic Engagement Programs Associate, Candice is focused on carrying out VAR’s cornerstone projects such as Lunar New Year, Black April, workers’ rights trainings, and of course, SEEDS — the program that she will forever cherish and be motivated by to continue working with youth and advocating for the community.

    Candice is currently a senior at Evergreen Valley High School in San José, California. As the President of her school’s Key Club, she organizes service projects and fundraisers with an emphasis on advancing social justice in the community. She is also a Teacher Assistant at Về Nguồn Vietnamese Language School and an intern at the San José City Council District 8 office.

  • JUSTIN VÕ

    VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Board of Directors

  • ATKINSON TRẦN

    PRESIDENT

    Atkinson started his community involvement while studying mechanical engineering at UCSD. During his college career, he volunteered with the Vietnamese American Youth Association (VAYA). Life later brought Atkinson to Houston where he worked with the Hope Initiative, a charity that fundraised to help children in Vietnam. The Bay Area called him back home where he got involved with VAR, VietAYA/ MAYS, Tet, and Golden Hearts which are all organizations he still supports. As VAR President and Boardmember, his focus is growing a strong foundation for VAR’s future. Professionally, Atkinson is an Account Manager at NMB.

  • ISABELLA LƯƠNG

    TREASURER

    Isabella Luong (she/her) has pushed for increased civic awareness among young Vietnamese Americans since serving as a high school VSA officer. Combining academic and activist perspectives, Isabella applies a structural lens to civic engagement work. Isabella is involved with multiple organizations carrying out different scopes of engagement: ICAN, a local CBO serving the Vietnamese community; VietUnity South Bay, a grassroots organization dedicated to social change and justice; and PIVOT– the Progressive Vietnamese American Organization. Isabella Luong graduated with a B.S. in Toxicology from UC Berkeley in 2019. She currently works in the nonprofit sector, doing community-based outreach and research.

  • LINDA NGUYỄN

    SECRETARY

    Linda Nguyen was born and raised in the Bay Area. She has worked in local government for over a decade advocating for marginalized populations (unhoused, farm workers, immigrant, and low-income) in the fields of utility, public health, social services, and environmental stewardship. She currently works in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion at a utility agency and was appointed to the Human Services Commission for the City of San José in 2021. She volunteers with various non-profits and causes, such as PIVOT, serving on the fundraising committee and assisting with social media efforts.

    She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration from San José State University. Her hobbies include live music, the arts, traveling, interior design and her cats (Teddy and Mocha).

  • CINDY NGUYỄN

    BOARD MEMBER

    Cindy became involved with her local Vietnamese community through her participation with the Vietnamese Student Association at her high school, where she held various officer positions. Her love for Vietnamese culture blossomed during her involvement in Miss Teen Vietnam of Northern California, where her experience led to other meaningful opportunities such as VAR, UVSA, and VietAYA. As a participant of VAR’s inaugural SEEDS program, Cindy’s contributions did not stop there, as she began to volunteer at many other VAR events such as the Black April Commemoration, Civic Engagement project, and VARoween. On top of volunteering with Vietnamese organizations, Cindy is an advocate for ensuring that all families in need receive basic necessities through her work with the American Red Cross and Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley.

    Cindy is now a senior at UC Berkeley where she is pursuing a B.A. in Social Welfare and minors in Public Policy and Global Poverty & Practice. She hopes to work in the public sector, advocating for underrepresented and diverse populations. In her free time, Cindy enjoys watching sunsets and sipping on strawberry matcha lattes.

  • ALICIA LƯƠNG

    BOARD MEMBER

    Alicia Luong is a fourth-year student at UC Berkeley who has taken on a variety of roles in the Vietnamese-American community and in the classroom. In addition to VAR, she volunteers with local non-profit and student organizations like Hoa Khôi Liên Trường, Cal Vietnamese Students Association, Cal VSA’s VISION mentorship program, and Vietnamese American Professional Women’s Association of Silicon Valley. Alicia was formerly a Youth Advisory Member for Allcove, where she outreached, collaborated with, and represented youth needs in the development of Allcove’s newly opened integrated mental health and primary care sites. As a budding psychologist, Alicia plans to intersect her dedication to the Vietnamese-American youth community with her foundation in academia. She is currently a research assistant in a clinical psychology lab at UC Berkeley, helping to advance research in interpersonal emotional regulation. She hopes to soon achieve her Bachelor’s and, eventually, Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D) degrees in order to practice clinical psychology in a community health care center in the near future.

  • CHRISTINA JOHNSON

    BOARD MEMBER

    Christina Johnson grew up in East San Jose and learned how to advocate at young age due to be a cultural and language translator for her single mother. She saw first hand how inequities impacted families in her community including her own, this motivated her to dedicate her life to social services. After graduating from UC Davis with a BA in Women & Gender Studies and Asian American Studies, Christina came back to San Jose to start her career in fundraising and development for various nonprofits in Silicon Valley. In 2020 she decided to leave her job as a staffer for Assemblymember Ash Kalra to be a stay at home mom.