VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ARTS & LETTERS ASSOCIATION

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List of Key Staff/Board of Directors Executive Director - Ysa Le began her art activism with VAALA in 2000 by spearheading various artistic events such as art exhibitions, book signings, concerts, plays, the annual Moon Festival Children's Art Contest, and the smART Program, which provided free art workshops to community youth organizations in Southern California. She co-founded Viet Film Fest in 2003 and served as VAALA's Board President from 2004-2008 before taking on the Executive Director position. In 2005, Ysa was chosen by the Orange County Register as one of the "30 Vietnamese Americans to Watch". She received the Arts and Culture (In -Language) Award from New California Media in 2003 for her article on Mimi News, reporting the revival of the traditional performance art Chi Luang n the Vietnamese community. She was also awarded the "Service Award" from the USC (University of Southern California) Asian Pacific Alumni Association in 2012. Youth in Motion Program Coordinator - Quyen Nguyen -Le is a filmmaker and educator born and raised in southern California, whose work has been exhibited internationally in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and Vietnam. After a brief time at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Quy8n instead completed degrees in Comparative Literature and Philosophy/Politics/Law at USC; then moved to Santiago de Chile to study Spanish with an emphasis in politics. Quy& is also a proud graduate of the Los Angeles Inner -City Filmmakers program and the Emma L. Bowen Foundation's three year fellowship at Focus Features/ NBCUniversal. VietRISE Program Director - Tracy La is a second -generation Vietnamese womxn who moved to Orange County in 2013 to attend the University of California at Irvine. While at UCI, Tracy coordinated student -led civic and voter engagement campaigns for three years and served as president of the Associated Students of UC Irvine. Tracy was also a recent cohort member of the Korean Resource Center's Leaders of the New School internship program where her focus was on immigrant rights (defend DACA and clean DREAM Act) and youth civic engagement in Orange County. Tracy also participated in the Hai Ba Trung School for Organizing in Los Angeles in October 2017. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2017 with bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Social Policy & Public Service. Tracy has experience in youth organizing, canvassing, phone banking, conducting advocacy - based campaigns, event planning, and developing and implementing community listening sessions. She strongly believes in youth empowerment, increasing progressive civic engagement in Orange County, economic justice for communities of color, womxn of color empowerment, immigrant rights, housing access, and expanding mental health services and de -stigmatizing mental health.