"The youth are not our future, they are the present."

Hung Nguyen started his public service career in an unexpected place-a seminary. As the eldest son in a family of five children, Hung entered a Catholic seminary in Los Angeles when he was 13 years old. In serving the Roman Catholic Church, he also served the community by working with troubled youths and families in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Today, he has devoted over 20 years of working in public service and continues to tirelessly advocate on behalf of Vietnamese Americans.

As the dynamic and innovative president and CEO of the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans (NCVA), Hung has proactively alerted olicymakers on key issues affecting the Vietnamese American population, unified local Vietnamese community organizations via strategic partnerships, and advance and strengthen the NCVA mission.

Created in 1986, the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans is a nonprofit, community advocacy organization based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It was founded by former South Vietnamese ambassador to the US, Bui Diem, and the energetic and well-respected husband and wife team of Nguyen Ngoc Bich and Dr. Dao Thi Hoi. As dedicated and passionate educators, the couple believed in the central tenant of youth leadership and empowerment, which is mostly seen in their successful prote?ge?, Hung. (Although he is not exactly a "youth," Hung is relatively young compared to his sagacious mentors.) Following their path, Hung chairs NCVA?s premier program, the Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference (VAYLC). VAYLC is a free-of-charge annual conference (participants only pay for food and housing) that provides the leadership, policy, and advocacy skills that are critical to the development of the next generation of Vietnamese American public service leaders. Unlike some leadership workshops, VAYLC has an emphasis on quantifiable outcomes: "Measurable results are what matters. We all know what needs to be done. Whether something is successful or ends up in failure, we learn something to make it better next time. There is always room for improvement. If there wasn't any room, then there would be nothing to do."

In addition to playing a central role in VAYLC and the annual NCVA convention, Hung uses his innovative thinking and interpersonal skills to rapidly expand NCVA?s mission, purpose, and goals. He is currently achieving his vision for NCVA?creating a national office focused on policy issues and fundraising-supported by a network of programmatic local chapters which addresses the needs of the local communities. This vision is part of his goal that he had envisioned four years ago when Hung first became to NCVA's president-to raise one million dollars for the NCVA?s Endowment Fund to secure a fully paid staff and operational office in downtown Washington, DC. According to Hung, NCVA is the first Vietnamese American advocacy organization that has its headquarters located in downtown Washington, DC. In addition to fundraising, Hung reaches out to private companies and businesses for partnership opportunities to harness the resources of private industries with the needs of the Vietnamese American community to create a diverse workforce. As a true social entrepreneur, he strategically partners with other organizations that share common interests with NCVA in order to gain strength in numbers when advocating for policy change. Additionally, he is the driving force behind efforts to expand NCVA's mission to include microfinance, financial literacy, homeownership and economic development programs.

Hung is the face of both NCVA and Vietnamese American interests on the national and local levels. He has selflessly championed to help create a better America for ethnic and cultural Vietnamese to ensure that their voice is heard and their interests represented.