Our Board

Kabo Yang (Chair)

Kabo Yang is a Strategic Services Consultant at Propel Nonprofits, working with organizations in the areas of strategic planning, board governance and organizational impact. She also teaches at St. Catherine University and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.  Kabo was most recently the Executive Director of the WoMN ACT (formerly MN Women’s Consortium), advocating on behalf of women throughout the state, and has worked in and volunteered for community-based organizations for 20 years. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree with research interests in women, refugees and leadership. She is a single mom to two young adults and enjoys traveling, hiking and watching cheesy horror movies.

Vân Huynh (Vice Chair)

Vân Huynh (she/her) is a queer Vietnamese American, born in Saigon. She is an immigration attorney, having co-led several high profile deportation defense cases and whose legal and advocacy work strives to build movements with organizers in order to effectively address root causes of criminalization. She has been involved with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago and Atlanta, PASO-West Suburban Action Project, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law Foundation, and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) – all working to organize immigrant communities and to connect with Black-led organizing.

Vân is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. Currently, she splits her time between Atlanta and Chicago, and frequently visits family in Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Seng So (Secretary)

In the 1980s Seng So’s parents fled the Khmer genocide and settled in the Bay Area. It is from this history—the struggles and sacrifices of his ancestors—that paves his path today. Seng has been a youth organizer in California’s immigrant and refugee communities for almost two decades. At the heart of his life and work are three principles: community, love, liberation.

Anthony Tan Nguyen (Treasurer)

Anthony Tan Nguyen currently serves as the Alliance Coordinator for Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, the research arm of Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego. Prior to this role, he was the District Director for U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) and has worked in both his San Diego, CA and Washington, DC offices handling issues on health care, seniors, housing, labor, human trafficking, national security, and Asia-Pacific affairs. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Diego State University, a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of San Diego, and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy. Anthony previously worked for the U.S. Social Security Administration and started his career in public service interning for the U.S. Department of State – Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. He is the former Secretary (Executive Board Member) of the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance of San Diego, Past President of the Vietnamese Student Association at SDSU, current Political Partner of the Truman National Security Project – San Diego Chapter, and 2022 CAUSE (Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment) Fellow. Anthony is a proud 1.5 generation Vietnamese American, born in Taiwan, and fluent in Vietnamese. He enjoys oil painting, throwing ceramics, and spending time with his wife and son at national and state/local parks.

Kathy Duong

Kathy Duong (she/her) has been working in the legislative and local government space for over a decade with her work rooted in government affairs, policy analysis, and community engagement. Kathy is a Public Policy Manager with Amazon, leading public policy and outreach with local communities throughout Northern California. She is passionate about equity access and forging successful public/private partnerships that benefit the community. Before joining Amazon, Duong worked for nine years as a government affairs and community relations director in Silicon Valley and also served as public policy director for a San Jose Councilmember.

She earned her associates degree at De Anza College, undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She was named Silicon Valley’s 40 Under 40 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2019. Born and raised in San Jose, CA, Kathy loves spending time with her family and they can be found serving coffee with her husband at their shop, Academic Coffee, on the weekends.

Huong Nguyen-Yap

Huong Nguyen-Yap (she/her/hers) is the Director of Community Investment at Women’s Foundation California where she is responsible for spearheading the Foundation’s grantmaking and convening strategies. Previously, she worked at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Asian American Pacific Islanders In Philanthropy (AAPIP). Huong’s experience also includes working as a clinical social worker for community-based, youth development programs.

Huong earned her MSW from San Jose State University and her BA in Asian American studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Huong also serves on the board of EBAYC in Oakland and is a core member of the Hella Heart Oakland Giving Circle.

Mike Hoa Nguyen

Mike Hoa Nguyen, PhD, is assistant professor of education in the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His research and teaching critically examine the benefits and consequences of racialized public policy instruments in expanding and/or constraining educational systems, specifically focusing on how these dynamics shape access, learning, opportunity, and success within and beyond schools for students of color. 

Dr. Nguyen aims to better articulate how race-conscious federal policy can reach its potential and fulfill its promise to address pervasive educational inequalities for underserved and underrepresented populations and regions within the United States. His work is supported by organizations such as The Kresge Foundation and he has been published in several outlets including Educational Researcher, the Journal of Higher Education, and the Review of Higher Education.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Nguyen has extensive professional experience in the federal government, having served as a senior staff member in the United States Congress. In his nearly seven years on staff, Dr. Nguyen managed a wide-ranging portfolio and was responsible for multiple complex and long-term intergovernmental projects and initiatives focusing on postsecondary education and the judiciary. Before federal service, Dr. Nguyen was a program associate at De Anza College, where he mentored students, developed a new curriculum and lectured. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and his graduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ana Phakhin

Raised in Arkansas, Ana is the proud daughter of Lao refugees. From advocating for equitable public school funding to Medicaid expansion, her career started with rural community organizing. She most recently worked in community-based philanthropy, managing grant investments focused on building pathways to prosperity for children and families. She is a proud graduate of Springdale Public Schools and Wellesley College and is grateful to have worked in the communities where she grew up. Ana is currently a student at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

Roseryn Bhudsabourg

Roseryn Bhudsabourg is a government relations professional with a decade of experience in public policy, community outreach, and advocacy. Roseryn is currently the Supervising Program Administrator for the Office of Government Relations with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the largest multi-purpose water supply, watershed stewardship, and flood management special district in California.

Roseryn previously served as a Senior Assistant and Communications Director at the California State Assembly in Sacramento, where she managed legislation and provided communications support to more than 100 bills, advised on key policy decisions, and conducted research and analyses of a broad range of policy issues, including environmental sustainability and social justice. She was also a member of the 2020 Staff Academy cohort of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Institute and the Capitol LGBTQ Association. Prior to the State Assembly, Roseryn was a Council Assistant with the City of San Jose and spearheaded the city’s first Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month festival, drawing upwards of 2,000 attendees annually during its four-year run.

While she considers San Jose her hometown, Roseryn grew up in different cities across the San Francisco Bay Area and overseas in Bangkok, Thailand, where her family is from. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in journalism and is an alumna of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute (APALI) at De Anza College. Roseryn also currently serves on the Board of the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters.

Hieu Pham

Hieu Pham is a Director of Programs and Community Outreach at Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity. She oversees victim services for Central Iowa, and administers the Legal Assistance Program for Asians & Pacific Islanders (LAPAPI). Hieu is a former journalist who worked as a government reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen and covered presidential campaigns for Agence France-Presse. Hieu immigrated to the United States as a child and refugee from Vietnam, and is passionate about issues such as Asian American identity, community health and the immigrant diasporic experience. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Iowa. A mother of three, Hieu loves to read, journal, and seek culinary adventures whenever she manages to get away.

Lue Vang

Lue Vang is the Finance Manager at The McKnight Foundation. He currently serves on the board of directors for Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) and Friends of Saint Paul College Foundation. Prior to his current experience, he served on the Planning Commission for the Saint Paul and Capital Improvement Program Advisory Committee (CIPAC) in Ramsey County. Lue holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Saint Olaf College and resides on the eastside of Saint Paul, MN. In his spare time, he enjoys spontaneous trips outside of Minnesota.