Hung Quoc Nguyen

Hung Quoc Nguyen, CLJ (Vietnamese Language: Nguyễn Quốc Hùng), born December 1971 in Da Nang, Vietnam, is an American politician and community activist. He fled Vietnam with his family in 1975 after the Fall of Saigon and resettled in the United States as refugees via Camp Pendelton.^[1][2]

In 2005, Nguyen was appointed by Governor Mark Warner to serve on the Virginia Asian Advisory Board. He was appointed by Governor Timothy Kaine as a Commissioner on the Governor's Commission for National and Community Service^[3] in 2006 and elected to the Board of Directors of the America's Service Commissions in 2009. In 2004, he was appointed by Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Gerry Connolly to the Fairfax County Consumer Protection Commission, where he is responsible for protecting citizens from illegal, fraudulent or deceptive consumer practices.

Biography

Nguyen attended the Los Angeles Unified School District until high school. In 1989, he graduated class valedictorian from Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary in the San Fernando Valley. He attended Saint John's Seminary College in Camarillo, California and graduated with a liberal arts degree, minoring in philosophy and psychology, in 1993. He completed three years of theological studies at St. John's Seminary (California) prior to leaving his priestly formation for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1996. He currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his family.

Nguyen, a Project Management Institute (PMI) certified Project Management Professional, has been an active Vietnamese American community organizer and leader for over 25 years.^[4] Throughout his career, he has been associated with various nonprofit organizations. From 2002 to 2007, he served as the President/CEO of the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans. During his tenure, he:

• Developed the Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference (VAYLC) to train young leaders to be more actively engaged in their local communities across the U.S.^[5][6]
• Initiated the Vietnamese American Heritage Project Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon at the Smithsonian Institution.^[7]
• Produced a TV program entitled APA on the Hill that examines issues and policies affecting Asian Pacific Americans across the U.S.
• Hosted a forum educating legislators on issues impacting Asian Pacific Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia.^[8]
• Partnered with Freddie Mac to develop CreditSmart Asian, a financial literacy program targeting Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese language speakers.
• Sounded the alarm bells on human trafficking in 2004 when three Vietnamese women were listed for sale on eBay.^[9][10]

Economic Development

Nguyen has worked with the small business community and underserved/disadvantaged communities by raising awareness of the barriers preventing them from opportunities to succeed.^[11]

• In 2006, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,^[12] he commissioned a study on the response provided to immigrant communities and submitted it^[13] to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Housing Task Force, chaired by Congressman Mike Honda and Task Force subcommittee chair Congressman Al Green.
• In August 2009, as input into the development of the National Broadband Plan, he testified before the Federal Communications Commission on Opportunities for Small and Disadvantaged Businesses.^[14]

Nguyen has worked with Arlington Economic Development's BizLaunch, Business Development Assistance Group, Fairfax County SkillSource Center, and the Asian American Chamber of Commerce to host business, contracting, and networking opportunities. He assisted in organizing the Mega Job Fair and Entrepreneurship Expo and worked with business owners to create the CEO Club, an organization that fosters corporate partnerships to collaboratively pursue business opportunities. He has spoken at forums and conferences related to procurement opportunities,^[15] organizational development,^[16] and corporate partnerships.^[17]

Nguyen has worked with companies who became recipients of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Fantastic 50 Award, Washington Technology's Fast 50, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Small Business Achievement Award.

Politics

Nguyen has campaigned for state and local elected officials in California, Massachusetts, Texas, and Virginia. In 2012, he was elected a Delegate to the DNC Convention in Charlotte, NC. In 2008, he served as a member of the Steering Committee on the Obama AAPI National Leadership Council^[18] and worked on the Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008.^[19] During the 2008 Democratic National Convention, he worked with ethnic media.^[20][21]

He has worked on community issues such as redistricting,^[22] political empowerment,^[23][24][25] immigration,^[26] housing, economic development, cultural identity,^[27][28][29] and health disparity.^[30]

Community service

Nguyen has served on the board of several 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations,^[31] including:

• America's Service Commissions (American Association of State Service Commissions)
• Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) ^[32]
• National Alliance of Vietnamese Service Agenices (NAVASA)
• National Congress of Vietnamese Americans (NCVA)
• International Leadership Foundation (ILF)
• LifeCircle Alliances
• Virginia Service Foundation

He is also a member of The Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, a philanthropy-based organization.

Awards

In recognition of Nguyen's service to the community, he received the Barbara Varon Volunteer Service Award^[33][34][35] from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2008, the Who's Who in the Asian American Community Award in 2007,^[36] and the Nice People Award.^[37] He has also been recognized by the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership for his public service and work with interns, by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council for strengthening its organizational capabilities, and by Mayor Willie Brown for his work with the City/County of San Francisco's Commission on Immigrant Rights.

References

1. "Being Vietnamese in America", NPR Talk of the Nation, April 28, 2005.
2. The Bob Edward Show. "The Fall of Saigon", XM Radio, April 29, 2005.
3. "AmeriCorp Grants", Asian Fortune News, March 2010.
4. Ilustre, Jennie L. Hung Quoc Nguyen, Community Activist, Asian Fortune News, September 2007.
5. "Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference", Zzine News, June 3, 2005.
6. Abdullah, Khalil. "Dinner Celebrates Vietnamese Youth Visit to D.C.", New America Media, June 29, 2006.
7. Vietnamese American Heritage Project, Smithsonian Institution Website.
8. National Congress of Vietnamese Americans. "Second Asian Pacific American Legislative Briefing and Reception in Richmond, Virginia", January 27, 2006.
9. Conrad, Rachel. "eBay Halts Auction of Vietnamese Girls", Associated Press, March 13, 2004.
10. Bong-Wright, Jackie. "Vietnamese Girls Auctioned on eBay", Nguoi Viet, April 29, 2004.
11. Campi, Alicia. "From Refugees To Americans: Thirty Years Of Vietnamese Immigration To The United States", Immigration Policy Center, March 13, 2006.
12. Elliott, Debbie. "E-Mail Campaign Leads to Church Rescue", NPR All Things Considered, September 3, 2005.
13. National Congress of Vietnamese Americans. "Community Briefing on Post-Katrina Rebuilding and the Vietnamese-American Community", September 12, 2006.
14. Federal Communications Commission. "FCC National Broadband Plan Workshop - Opportunities for Small and Disadvantaged Businesses", August 18, 2009.
15. "Congressman Jim Moran 8th Annual Federal Procurement Conference", The PTAC of Northern Virginia, March 31, 2008.
16. Federal Asian Pacific American Council."FAPAC 2009 Annual Conference", Houston, TX, May 11–15, 2009.
17. Niwa, Grace. "Tips on Profiting from Corporate Gifts", AsianWeek, April 8, 2005.
18. Kang, Eugene."Obama Announces Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders National Leadership Council", Organizing for America, October 26, 2007.
19. Inocencio, Ramy. "The Asian American Vote", CBS News, October 28, 2008.
20. Chang, Zuag Kimberly. "Asian Americans at the DNC", Hmong Today, August 28, 2008.
21. "Người Mỹ gốc Á ăn mừng tổng thống", BBC Vietnamese, January 20, 2009.
22. "Gov. Davis Must Veto Assembly Redistricting", Willow Glen Resident, September 26, 2001.
23. Sullivan, Tim. "A New Kind of Majority", Nguoi Viet, December 16, 2004.
24. Lamb, David. "After the Fall", Washingtonian, April 1, 2005.
25. Mustac, Frank. "Vietnamese Americans Beginning to Flex Political Muscle", Fairfax Times, December 4, 2002.
26. Smith, Jessica. "New Wave of Vietnamese Immigration", KQED Pacific Time, November 24, 2005.
27. Lamb, David. "Virginians Rally to an Old Flag: South Vietnam's", Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2003.
28. Avila, Oscar. "Conflicting Colors of Vietnam", Tribune, February 22, 2004.
29. "US Vietnam Vets Mark Anniversary", BBC, May 1, 2005.
30. "Vietnamese Community Looks at Health Issues", Asian American Press, May 17, 2003.
31. Huynh, Maria. "Social Entrepreneurs on the Cutting Edge", BN Magazine, July 2006.
32. "Leaders at CAPAL", Asian Fortune News, November 2009.
33. Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs. "2008 Barbara Varon Volunteer Award Winner", October 28, 2008.
34. "Hung Nguyen Recognized for Volunteer Service", Asian Fortune News, November 2008.
35. Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). "JACL Commends Hung Nguyen", October 23, 2008.
36. "Who's Who in Asian American Communities", Global Atlanta, August 27, 2007.
37. "Hùng Nguyễn Awarded", Nguoi Viet, February 10, 2006.