APA PEOPLE
December 23, 2005
Indiana U’s Nguyen Going Pro
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — U.S. Under-20 international Lee Nguyen has signed with an agent and will turn professional.
Nguyen, 18, was part of the U.S. U-20 team at this past summer’s World Youth Championships, but he enrolled at Indiana University, the top collegiate soccer program in the United States in recent years. In just one season, Nguyen scored five goals and created 12 others, extremely impressive numbers for a freshman.
Nguyen said, “Going pro is all about timing. I gotta pick the right time and I think this is it.”
Kwan Peaking as Olympics Approach
BOSTON –– With the Turin Olympics looming, five-time world champion Michelle Kwan appears to be recovering nicely from her hip injury.
Kwan won the women’s competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Challenge overwhelmingly, earning 59% of the vote in the finals to beat Sasha Cohen.
It was Kwan’s 2005-06 debut and her first performance since injuring her hip in October.
“I did what I could today,” Kwan said. “Just being out there, it gives me a sense of rhythm. I started jumping not too long ago, like two weeks ago. From not spinning, not jumping to performing, that was a big step for me.”
Viet Priest Rebuilds Flooded Community
NEW ORLEANS –– Rev. Vien The Nguyen, 43, pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam, is taking charge again in scarred eastern New Orleans.
Supporters from Texas, California and Washington have all come in to help Father Vien’s parish of 6,000 to navigate the bureaucratic maze. His parishioners have organized, too, to gather supplies, cook meals and recruit volunteers to rebuild each other’s homes.
Just two weeks after Katrina, Father Vien celebrated Mass in the damaged church. Hundreds came. Weeks later, there were a few thousand.
“We believe the saints intercede for us in times of trouble,” Father Vien says. “This is one of those times.”
He’s confident Katrina is just a minor setback, and virtually everyone in this community will return. “If I’m pessimistic, I say 95 percent,” he says.
Va. Governor Appoints Chopra to the Cabinet
RICHMOND, Va. –– Virginia’s Governor-Elect Tim Kaine has appointed Aneesh Chopra, 33, secretary of technology in his cabinet.
Chopra, managing director of the Advisory Board Company, which provides research and analysis in business strategy and general management to the health care industry, becomes the first Indian American to serve in a state cabinet-level appointment.
Chopra was also close to outgoing governor Mark Warner, a millionaire IT expert, and possible presidential candidate.
Chopra served on Warner’s Electronic Health Records Task Force, the Board of Medical Assistance Services, and was appointed to the Southern Technology Council, which he went on to co-chair.
Chopra, co-president of the D.C. chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, was born in Trenton, N.J., and received his BA in public health from Johns Hopkins University. He earned his MA, also in public policy, from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
New APA Superintendent
SANTA MONICA, Calif. –– The Santa Monica College Board of Trustees has named Dr. Chui L. Tsang to the Superintendent/President post, effective Feb. 27, 2006. Tsang is currently president of San Jose City College.
The 54-year-old Cupertino resident was selected from three finalists for the $175,000-a-year post.
Tsang has taught at Stanford University, De Anza College in Cupertino and San Francisco State University.
He was one of the founders of the Stanford Students for Boat People to help Vietnamese refugees, and has been active with such organizations as the Bay View Hunter’s Point Foundation, East Bay Regional Park Foundation and the San Francisco Private Industry Council.
Tsang is a first-generation Californian who earned a BA in linguistics from UC Berkeley, and doctorate in linguistics from Stanford University.
He succeeds Dr. Piedad F. Robertson, who left the college in January to become president of the Denver-based Education Commission of the States.
New APIA Caucus Officers and Members
PHOENIX –– New Asian Pacific Islander American caucus officers were recently elected at the Democratic National Convention’s Fall Meeting in Phoenix. DNC Chairman Howard Dean congratulated the officers and welcomed new APIA caucus members:
Bel Leong-Hong, a Chinese American DNC member from Gaithersburg, Md., was voted unanimously as its new chair.
Brickwood Galuteria, chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party was voted as its new Secretary/Treasurer.
Mona Mohib from Washington, D.C., was re-elected as vice chair.
The newest members of the APIA caucus include Dr. Kamil Hasan of Saratoga, Calif., and Minnesota State Senator Mee Moua. Hasan is a representative of the Indian community and Moua is the first Hmong American to be elected to the Minnesota State Senate.
The APIA caucus has a total of 18 members.
New Controller Deputy Director of Communications
SACRAMENTO, Calif. –– Linda Chou has been named the new deputy director of communications for State Controller Steve Westly.
Her duties include serving as a spokesperson, responding to media inquiries, organizing press conferences, and writing press releases and speeches.
Chou has a BS in communications from Boston University. She has worked in the press offices of governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis. She was also communications director for the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority, a state agency created during the energy crisis.
“Linda brings an incredible amount of experience and talent to my communications team,” Westly said. “Linda’s background in finance and energy will be key to engaging Californians in my work to fix the state budget and clean our environment.”
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