My Lan Tran to head Virginia Asian Chamber

May 25, 2011
By Carol Hazard / Richmond Times-Dispatch

My Lan Tran is leaving her position as a program manager with the city of Richmond to become the first full-time executive director of the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce and administrator of the Virginia Asian Foundation.

"I am leaving seniority, benefits and the comfort of that job" for this new opportunity, Tran said.

Her appointment is effective June 1.

Tran has served at the Asian chamber as a part-time volunteer, bringing her passion and talents to the 7-year-old organization, said Tinh duc Phan, chairman and founder of the Asian chamber.

"The success of this organization is because of her energy," he said.

"We now have a full-time position not only for the Richmond area but the entire state of Virginia to boost business opportunities for Asian businesses and bring more educational programs," Phan said.

Tran has taken a risk to fulfill her passion, Phan said. He pledged to do whatever possible to help her expand the organization.

"May God bless her for her vision, passion and responsibilities," he said in a statement.

Tran said the Asian business community deserves an organization that can commit resources to accommodate growing demands.

She cited recent Census Bureau research about the rapid growth of Asian businesses in Virginia and the nation outpacing overall business growth rates.

"I want the American public to know that the Asian business community has a face and a service."

She said she has spent her life working with multicultural immigrants. She came to the U.S. in August 1975 after the end of the Vietnam War when communists took over her country.

She worked as a deputy director for a state employment department in Quincy, Mass., before coming to Virginia in 1996 — "for a change of life and looking for new opportunity."

Tran worked for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership for six years as an international trade marketing manager and as a policy analyst.

She has been with the city's office of minority business development since 2003. She speaks Spanish, French, Vietnamese and English, and she is learning Mandarin.

She earned a master's degree in international policy and Asian affairs in 1982 from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif.

The Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce, which has 285 members, conducts meetings in the SunTrust Bank building in downtown Richmond. It has regional volunteer offices in Northern Virginia, the Hampton Roads area, Charlottesville and Southwest Virginia.

Copyright Richmond Times-Dispatch. Used by permission.

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