Minh Dang Appointed Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

This month, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint Minh Dang to be on the United State Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.

Minh Dang, a resident of San Jose, CA,  currently serves as the Executive Director for Don’t Sell Bodies, which advocates on behalf of survivors of modern day slavery. 

By sharing her own story of growing up in San Jose and forced in sex slavery in the Bay Area,  Minh has worked to combat child abuse and human trafficking in the United States through direct service, community organizing, and political advocacy. Minh also provides technical assistance and organizational consulting to local, state, and national service providers and government agencies. Recently, Minh helped launch the U.S. Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking.

Jenny Do Recognized for Her Community and Philanthropy Work

On December 7, 2015,  Attorney Jenny Do was recognized by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and San Jose City Council for her community and philanthropy work in the Bay Area and Vietnam.   The proclamations were given by County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and City Councilmember Ash Kalra.

Jenny Do and her Commendations

Vietnamese American Service Center of Santa Clara County

Dear Neighbor,

The Office of the County Executive, the Santa Clara County Department of Behavioral Health, the County’s Department of Public Health, the Social Services Agency, and my staff have been hard at work gathering community input through stakeholder sessions and surveys to help create a design proposal for a future Vietnamese American Service Center. I had the pleasure of kicking off the Vietnamese American Service Center Stakeholder process back in September and look forward to seeing the operational and service model blueprint informed by your feedback.

Our most recent stakeholder sessions were held at the Social Services Agency on November 19 and November 21. Both sessions were rousing successes with community members and service providers both in attendance. There remains two opportunities to attend a stakeholder session on December 6th and December 8th – both sessions will be held at the Social Services Agency campus located on 1879 Senter Road.  Refreshments and heavy appetizers will be provided with County staff ready to receive your input. If you are not able to attend a stakeholder session, you can still participate by taking our online survey by clicking on one of the links below.

Online Surveys

Vietnamese - https://www.sccgov.org/sites/ceo/vasc/Pages/vascv.aspx

English - https://www.sccgov.org/sites/ceo/vasc

Vietnamese American Service Center Stakeholder Sessions

December 6, 2015

1:00 pm – 3:30pm

1879 Senter Road

December 8, 2015

6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

1879 Senter Road

Be Well,

Cindy

Cindy Chavez

County Supervisor, D2

Board of Supervisors

Santa Clara County

New Year's Eve Party

A Mansion Sold for $35 Million in Saigon

Earlier this month, a turn-of-the 20th century mansion in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) was sold for $35 million.  The asking price was $47 million.  

The 28,00 sqft mansion was built in French colonial style by a wealthy jewelry and pawn shop merchant.   The mansion needs some TLC due to age and neglect.  The undisclosed buyer bought it from the descendants of the merchant.  Some of the descendants are residents of San Jose.  This is big new  in Vietnam since real real estate transaction is rarely disclosed.   

A lot of Vietnamese-Americans in the Bay Area own real estate and have become wealthy in the last 5 years through an incredible hot market.  The largest real estate transaction in the Vietnamese-American community in the Bay Area  is by Tram Be (a bank CEO and investor from Vietnam).  He sold the interior mall of Vallco shopping complex for $120 million late last year.   He bought the interior mall for $64 million in 2009 as a foreclosure.

INTERNATIONAL SOUTHEAST ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

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The I-SEA Film Fest (International Southeast Asian Film Fest, Nov 21-22, 2015) highlights the histories, imaginaries and identities of those with ties to Southeast Asia and its diasporas.

Featuring work by award-winning directors (Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or, Prince Claus Foundation, MacArthur “Genius" award), Oscar nominees, rebels and art-world stars, I-SEA  showcases world- class feature films, cutting-edge experimental shorts and controversial documentaries.

The Opening night gala will take place on November 20th at Artists' Television Access. The festival takes place at New People Cinema in Japantown from November 21-22nd, 2015--select screenings will have post-screening Q&A with filmmakers and panels.