Anna is SEARAC’s Director of National Policy. They manage SEARAC’s federal policy advocacy for immigration, health, and aging issues and engage with policymakers and community partners to advance SEARAC’s national advocacy strategies. Prior to this
role, they specialized in higher education policy, with a focus on the success of students of color and students’ civil rights. Anna was also once SEARAC’s education policy manager, for which they advanced K-12 and higher education priorities for Southeast
Asian American students. They have also served as a congressional staffer, first as a Fellow with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) and then as a full-time staffer. Anna is a 1.5 generation Korean immigrant. They hold a MA in Urban Education Policy and BA in Education Studies.

Pronouns: (they/them/theirs)

Andrew manages SEARAC’s state-level policy and legislative advocacy in California. He leads relationships with policymakers, cultivates statewide partnerships, and builds the advocacy capacity of community leaders as part of SEARAC’s California team.

Previously, Andrew was Campaigns Manager at PICO California, the largest faith-based community organizing network in the state. His work focused on supporting organizers in developing grassroots leaders in 17 counties, while bridging local and state efforts that advanced tenant protections, immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and budget equity. Other work included leading integrated voter engagement programs in 2022 and Census outreach campaigns in 2020. Andrew also served on the external affairs staffs of former California State Controllers John Chiang and Betty Yee, and as a high school special education teacher in South Los Angeles.

A graduate of USC, Andrew is based in Los Angeles.

Pronouns: he/him/his

Thuy is SEARAC’s Senior California Program Manager and works to provide thought partnership and execute SEARAC’s state-level programming. She is responsible for managing coalitions, cultivating strong relationships, building capacity of community leaders through engagement and mobilization, and organizing events and campaigns.

Prior to joining SEARAC, Thuy was a Research and Project Assistant at Oakland Thrives to uplift social justice and health equity for families and children in Alameda County. Her north star is to advance maternal, infant, and child health for families of color experiencing low income. She was a Project Consultant and Resource Manager for the California WIC Association in collaboration with the National WIC Association and the California Department of Public Health. She has served the Sacramento community as a volunteer birth doula and is certified as a breastfeeding peer counselor recognized in Contra Costa County.

Thuy holds a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Health Management and Policy from San Diego State University (SDSU) and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara. She is currently a committee member of the California Association of Healthcare Leaders chapter in Northern California.

Thuy is a proud 1.25 generation Vietnamese-American, born in Vung Tau, Vietnam and raised in Sacramento, CA. In her free time, she enjoys guiding Vinyasa and Yin Yoga with curated Yoga playlists on Spotify, indoor cycling, and climbing. She and her husband are proud fur parents to a shy but lovable chiweenie terrier, Foxy.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS

Phun is SEARAC’s Communications Associate and supports our communications strategies to increase the visibility and reach of SEARAC’s work. Prior to this role, she served as SEARAC’s Policy Associate.

Phun was born in Vietnam and is part of the Bunong community, one of many Indigenous and ethnic highlander tribes within the Montagnard identity. Phun and her family were resettled in North Carolina as refugees from Vietnam and she was raised in Greensboro. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and holds Bachelors’ degrees in public policy and Asian American studies. At UNC, Phun co-founded Voices of the Highlands, a virtual space that seeks to share Montagnard traditions, preserve oral histories, and connect the Montagnard diaspora on the shared experiences of Montagnard identity.

If she’s not napping, you can often find Phun at a cafe, on a trailhead, or at an airport gate.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS

Natalie is SEARAC’s Associate Director of Education Policy, where she works to prioritize evidence-based policies to advance student success for Southeast Asian American students.

Prior to joining SEARAC, Natalie was a Policy Advisor at the Learning Policy Institute where she served diverse national and state education leaders on issues ranging from whole child education, performance assessments, and student health and safety. Natalie also served as Policy Director at the Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) where she provided research and technical assistance to state policymakers on transforming K-12 education to student-centered learning models, including competency-based education, personalized learning, and online learning. Prior to that, Natalie was a Policy Analyst for the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, advancing state policies and work on competency-based education, postsecondary readiness, and youth transitions to workforce training and development. Natalie began her career as an English teacher and debate coach in Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland.

Natalie holds a Master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University and B.A. in English and Political Science from Grinnell College. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Research Methods at George Mason University.

Natalie grew up in Iowa where she attended public schools and enjoyed many pineapple upside down cakes. She spent a year in Asia before settling in the Washington, D.C. area to begin a career dedicated to representing diverse students in education policy and research. In her spare time, she enjoys visiting local restaurants and coffee shops.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS

Jenna is SEARAC’s Director of Development, managing SEARAC’s fundraising strategies to ensure organizational sustainability and drive growth. She works with SEARAC’s Executive Director to set and achieve fundraising goals, maintain relationships with SEARAC funders, and cultivate new supporters with an interest in SEARAC’s mission.

Prior to her time at SEARAC, Jenna was the National Director of the Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC), an organization dedicated to uplifting the needs of older adults in communities of color, American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and LGBTQ+ communities. SEARAC is a founding member of the DEC, and it was here that Jenna was introduced to the essential work that SEARAC does and the importance of advocacy for older adults, the necessity of disaggregated data, and the unique and varied experiences of immigrant and refugee communities in the United States. Jenna also spent nearly a decade working as a Program Director for the National LGBT Cancer Network, where she ran support groups for LGBTQ+ cancer survivors and developed trainings to enhance the cultural competency of cancer providers working with the LGBTQ+ communities.

Jenna holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management and Communications from SUNY Brockport. She currently lives in western New York with her partner, Carly. When not working, Jenna enjoys playing board games and video games, riding her bike, birdwatching, and making and sharing vegan food. The best trip she’s ever taken was a two-week sojourn to Italy to eat endless amounts of pizza and (vegan!) gelato, practice her passable Italian language skills, and see the region where her grandfather lived as a child before immigrating to the United States.

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS

Mandy is the California Deputy Director, overseeing SEARAC’s advocacy and building community at the state level. SEARAC’s work in California focuses on amplifying the voices of the largest Southeast Asian American (SEAA) population in the US, building engagement and capacity of stakeholders, and promoting key legislation to advance social justice and equity among SEAA communities.

Mandy has over a decade of experience working with refugee, immigrant, and marginalized communities, including developing health and education programs in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa, supporting refugee resettlement in the US, and advocating for equitable health care policies in California. 

She was raised in Los Angeles, after resettling in California with her family as refugees from Vietnam. Mandy holds a Master of International Affairs with concentrations in public policy and international development from UC San Diego. In her downtime, she enjoys anything food-related and being near the ocean and mountains.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Phoebe handles SEARAC’s operations and finances, working behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. Prior to joining the team, she honed her logistic and administrative skillset by overseeing the front desks of several college residence halls.

Phoebe holds a Master of Arts degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of San Francisco (USF) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from New York University (NYU). During the course of her educational journey, she learned to reclaim her family’s history as refugees and developed tools to challenge the systems perpetuating the marginalization of peoples of color. As a Chinese-Vietnamese American, she is beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to work with an organization that empowers and supports communities like hers.

Quyên is the Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). Originally formed in 1979, SEARAC was founded by a group of American humanitarians as a direct response to the refugee crises arising throughout Southeast Asia as a result of U.S. military actions. Today, SEARAC is a civil rights organization that represents the largest refugee community ever resettled in America.  It works to empower diverse communities from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to create a socially just and equitable society through policy advocacy, advocacy capacity building, community engagement, and mobilization.

As Executive Director, Quyên has advocated for Southeast Asian Americans on key civil rights issues including education, immigration, criminal justice, health, and aging. Quyên has spoken widely about Southeast Asian American communities and has appeared in American RadioWorks, NBC, Public Radio International, and Voice of America. Under Quyên’s leadership, SEARAC has authored national legislation and passed California legislation calling for transparent, disaggregated data for the Asian American community. Quyên has also extended SEARAC’s coalition presence and leadership in other civil rights and social justice movements through her leadership roles with the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), Detention Watch Network (DWN), the Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC), RISE for Boys and Men of Color, and Allies Reaching for Community Health Equity (ARCHE) Action Collaborative. Prior to SEARAC, she built lasting infrastructure for the International Children Assistance Network (ICAN) in San Jose, CA, serving Vietnamese immigrant parents, grandparents, and youth.  

Born to Vietnamese refugees, Quyên identifies as a second-generation Vietnamese American.  She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Quyên was born in New Orleans, LA, and grew up in Orange County, CA, and San Jose. She currently resides with her husband in Washington, DC.  

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As SEARAC’s first ever Chief Operating Officer, Katrina provides strategic management and oversight of the organization’s infrastructure, which includes finance and grants administration, human resources, and operations to ensure that SEARAC has the capacity to achieve its mission. Katrina started out as SEARAC’s immigration policy manager, where she advocated to keep Southeast Asian American families safe from deportation. She has appeared in a number of publications including, NBC News, AJ+, Huffington Post, Public Radio International, NPR, and the Nation, expanding SEARAC’s immigration policy and mass incarceration work to reach broader audiences. Following this role, Katrina served in various leadership positions in SEARAC, including Director of National Policy, Deputy Director of Policy and Field, and Acting Executive Director.

Before coming to SEARAC, Katrina worked in the labor movement for six years at the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). In 2011, she was elected to serve as DC chapter president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), the only national Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) union membership organization. In this capacity, she led the chapter’s local advocacy campaigns and organizing work around immigrant workers’ rights, coordinated civic engagement programs for the 2012 elections, and strengthened local networks through extensive coalition building efforts.  She also served on APALA’s National Executive Board and co-chaired the organization’s Young Leaders Council.

Katrina holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she also served as graduate coordinator at the Office of Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy to advise, mentor, and educate AAPI students on campus. She received her bachelor’s degree from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. In her free time, Katrina enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, binge-watching true crime series on Netflix, reading dystopian fiction, swimming, and watching Broadway musicals.

pronouns: she/her/hers

Kham S. Moua oversees SEARAC’s communications, field, and policy portfolios through landscape and strategic analysis, community engagement, and legislative and regulatory advocacy. Kham has spent over a decade community building, organizing, and advocating on a wide range of issues, ranging from immigration to military justice. His primary areas of expertise are in immigration and internet/technology policy.

Prior to this role, Kham served as SEARAC’s Director of National Policy. While in that role, he raised the profile of Southeast Asian immigration issues and helped introduce the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act and New Way Forward Act. He also previously served as the Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates. While there, he directed the organization’s policy, advocacy, and campaign efforts. Together with Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, he helped to establish the infrastructure for the AAPI Technology and Telecommunications Table, the only national coalition focused on those issues from an AAPI framework. Before OCA, he worked on state and local advocacy at Hmong National Development and Hmong American Partnership. Kham is also involved with AAPI LGBTQ organizations and issues. He previously served as a board member for the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA); was previously the chair of Shades of Yellow, an organization based in Minnesota focused on Southeast Asian LGBTQ equity; and served as co-chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific American’s Immigration Committee. 

Kham hails from Minnesota and holds a political science degree. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and is a 1.5 generation Hmong American. In his freetime, he enjoys reading non-fiction and graphic novels, writing short stories and poetry, and baking. You can follow his sparse Twitter account at @khammoua.

Pronouns: he/him/his

Elaine leads SEARAC’s communications and resource development strategies. Her portfolio includes a wide variety of editorial and academic consulting work, with topics ranging from public policy to health sciences. Prior to joining SEARAC in 2018, Elaine worked as a freelance communications consultant, editor, and reporter.

Elaine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and political science and a Master of Public Policy degree from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs with a concentration in education and children and youth policy.

Born in Cebu City, Philippines, and raised in Clifton, NJ, Elaine identifies as a 1.5 generation Filipino American. She resides in Philadelphia, PA, where she is likely cheering for one of her kids on a soccer field at this very moment.

pronouns: she/her/hers