About Us

The Viet Nam Scholarship Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that started with a small group of passionate people in Seattle, WA. It is 100% volunteer run by the Board of Directors, trusted advisors, and dedicated volunteers both here in the United States as well as in Viet Nam. Having virtually no administrative costs, VNSF is able to maximize the amount of your donation that goes directly to program services.

VNSF was founded in 2001 and in the following year the first 10 scholarships were given out in Ca Mau and Sai Gon. Since then, we have given scholarships to over 450 students and currently support over 375 students.

In June 2010, VNSF formally adopted Inspire Vietnam, a nonprofit group devoted to creating reading rooms, to expand our library initiatives.  Combined, we have renovated 4 libraries, which serve over 3,000 students. We have two additional libraries currently being planned for the 2010-11 school year.

Make a donation today and help send more kids to school in Viet Nam.

Meet our Board of Directors | Meet our Board Advisors | Meet our Staff and Volunteers

VNSF Board of Directors at the 6th Annual Benefit Event (August 2010)
Pictured (left to right): My-Linh Van, Paul Tamura, Uyen Vu,
Phil Chang (no longer a Board Member), Wendy Nguyen, and  Vu Le
Not Pictured: Gary Ly, Nhi Tran

VNSF Board of Directors

Paul Tamura (Chair)

Member since January 2003.

Paul Tamura’s grandparents emigrated from Japan as farmers. He is grateful that the education enjoyed by his parents allowed him to lead a comfortable life. He feels that there are many in the world who, simply by chance, have not had the same opportunities. Since graduating the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Electrical Engineering, he has always dedicated a portion of his earnings to social and environmental causes and has always set aside time to volunteer as a tutor, clerical assistant and community organizer. Paul was persuaded in 2003 to become treasurer of the VNSF by his friends Tam Nguyen and Tyler Loc DuLam . He hopes that through the VNSF he can have a lasting impact on the future of the children of Viet Nam.

Vu Le (Vice Chair)

Member since June 2006.

Vu was born in Don Duong, a small village in Viet Nam near the city of Dalat. When he was eight, he and his family immigrated to the US through the Amerasian Homecoming program. Vu earned degrees in psychology and social work from Washington University in St. Louis. During visits to Viet Nam, Vu was saddened by sights of small children selling lottery tickets or working hard hours to support their family. Joining VNSF’s board allows him to work with others who are passionate about helping impoverished children in Viet Nam. He is an aspiring writer who thinks every child deserves the chance to follow his/her dream.

My-Linh Van (Treasurer)

Member since November 2006.

My-Linh was born and raised in Northern Virginia. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Ca Mau, Viet Nam in hopes of providing their children a better life. It was their dream that all their kids go to college and they worked multiple jobs to ensure that dream came true. As a result of their sacrifice and hard work, My-Linh graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Computer Science and Math. She went on to get a Masters in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University. She is in much debt and gratitude to her parents and in an effort to give back to her native country and the many children who were not afforded the same opportunity she was, My-Linh has chosen to dedicate her time to VNSF. She is confident this organization is doing great things and is making a positive and important impact on the future of Viet Nam. She hopes to be an integral part in growing this organization and broadening its reach and success.

Gwen Vu (Secretary)

Member since July 2003.

Uyen (Gwen) Vu left Viet Nam by boat with her family at age 12. After about a year of living in various refugee camps, she and her family came to settle in Landsing, Michigan. Uyen graduated from college with a degree in Physical Therapy. She is very thankful for all the opportunities and experiences she has had as the result of being able to have an education. When Uyen stumbled upon VNSF a short time after coming to Seattle, she enthusiastically joined the Board of VNSF because she strongly supports its mission and philosophy. She feels that education and knowledge are key to empowerment and to help break the cycle of poverty. She hopes to help the students VNSF funded to have better opportunities than her best childhood friend from Viet Nam, who had to quit school during the 9th grade to sell pho to help support her family!

Wendy Nguyen (Director)

Member since June 2010.

Wendy grew up in the large Vietnamese-American community of San Jose, California.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Russian Literature.  Wendy started out her career at Bain & Co., a management consulting company, and then spent several years working at a private equity firm located in Viet Nam.  While living in Ho Chi Minh, Wendy founded a local non-profit group (Inspire Vietnam) to help renovate libraries at in-need schools. In 2010, VNSF formally adopted Inspire to expand its library initiatives.

Wendy is incredibly excited to help VNSF achieve its mission of promoting education and literacy to deserving Vietnamese students.  Having spent the better part of her childhood flipping through the dog-earred pages of Encyclopedia Brown and the Chronicles of Narnia in her local library, Wendy believes in the transformative power of books and education.  She is passionate about giving Vietnamese students improved opportunities. Wendy currently works in online marketing and resides in San Francisco, CA.

Gary Ly (Director)

Member since April 2011.

Gary Thai Binh Ly came to the US in 1993 from suburb of Saigon. Seattle became his second home. Gary was from a teacher family. He worked at a very young age to support his own schools in Viet Nam and in the US. His long time dreams and vision are to help children in Viet Nam to get basic education. This is his PASSION. He strongly believes that education is the greatest tool to improve people’s lives especially the less fortunate children. Gary strongly commits his time and energy to VNSF to empower and share its vision and mission.

One of Gary’s favorite Vietnamese sayings is:

“Học trò học hiếu học trung
Học cho đến mực anh hùng mới thôi…”

Gary is currently a broker with John L Scott Real Estate to help people to achieve the American Dreams.

Nhi Tran (Director)

Member since February 2012.

Nhi and her family immigrated to the United States in 1996 from Đồng Nai, Việt Nam. In 2007, Nhi went back to Viet Nam through a service-learning trip to build bridges of peace and friendship between the American and Vietnamese peoples. The trip not only made Nhi feel a deeper connection with her native land, it also made her feel much more grateful to the comfortable life here in America and more compelled to give back and make a difference. With a significant portion of the Vietnamese population live on less than two dollars a day, Nhi hopes her involvement with VNSF will broaden its success thus far in enabling underprivileged children achieve success through education. Currently, Nhi works at a nonprofit organization while pursuing a master’s degree in public administration. Nhi is passionate about social justice, leadership development, and cultivating intellectual curiosity, compassion, wisdom and inner peace in herself and in others. Nhi is also fluent in English and Vietnamese.