Van Dang
Civic Engagement Organizer, She/Her
Vân is a member of the LGBTQ community. Born and raised in Saigon, Vân is fluent in Vietnamese and deeply understands Vietnamese culture and history.
Vân has over 10 years of experience working for the offices in Vietnam of two pharmaceutical companies: Organon (Netherlands) and Merck (USA). Therefore, Vân believes in the adages "Prevention is better than cure" and "Health is gold."
After immigrating in California through same-sex marriage, Vân had to start over, from learning English to getting accustomed to the culture and customs of the locals, especially finding a job. The nail job was Vân's choice to begin a new life in her second homeland, which country guarantees Vân the freedom to live an openly LGBTQ life and to choose candidates/bills that best protect the rights of immigrants and LGBTQ individuals like Vân.
In addition to working as a nail technician, Vân was an on-call administrative support for the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Vân also was a phone banker for the nonprofit organization, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. Vân is motivated to participate in the transparent vote-counting system in the United States and to focus on the voices of marginalized communities.
Living and working in both Vietnam and the United States, especially from the experience of being a nail technician, has given Vân a deep understanding of the life of the working class, especially of the nail worker in the Vietnamese community. Therefore, as a full-time official employee of the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, in the position of Civic Engagement Organizer, Vân wants to contribute her small voice to protect the rights and lives of immigrant workers, especially Vietnamese-speaking nail workers in California, as well as the Vietnamese LGBTQ community.
For Vân, immigrant workers need to be protected from discrimination and/or unfair treatment simply because they are unaware or unclear about the laws that protect them. Most importantly, immigrant workers truly need a safe working environment so they do not have to sacrifice their health for their livelihood.
What never fails to make you smile?
“Every time I remember the image and voice of my mother, the love of my wife, the innocent smile of my adopted daughters, and the care of my brother and his wife for me. The warm love of my family is what always makes me smile and feel overwhelmingly happy, even when I am facing many challenges in life.”