Ann Nguyen
she/her/hers
What do you do?
Senior Facilitator/Consultant
But what do you really do?
I support teams and their leaders to generate will, commitment, and hope to create organizational culture, systems, and spaces where BIPOC can really be themselves and thrive. This happens through learning and un-learning, strategy and capacity-building, and shifting and recreating systems and structures. At the core of all of this is relationships. Relationships are powerful, and I work with teams, leaders, and organizations to build and nurture the kind of relationships that actualize both incremental and lasting change. By centering racial equity, possibility opens up: possibility of dismantling racist systems and ways of being, possibility of creating more efficient and effective solutions, and possibility of transforming who we become. I work to generate and advance teams and leaders toward stewarding this possibility.
And what’s your story? As in, what makes you tick?
That's easy- people! I love people. Down to my core, I truly believe in the very best of our humanity. I am so inspired and moved by people and their stories. There is no story that motivates and grounds me more than my mom's journey of leaving her home in Vietnam to come to America in order to build a foundation and a future for our family. Hers is a story of both love and sacrifice as well as leadership and unbelievable, unique brilliance. I am a proud daughter of immigrants, and this is an identity that I hold closely and proudly. I am a product of the impossible, and that is the driving force behind the work that I get to do here at CEI.
What’s rewarding about working at the Center?
It's an honor to work alongside our Leadership Team- they have a true commitment and deep belief in all of us, both individually and collectively, and this means the world to me. We are a community that values learning, and I love this about our culture. It extends to me the opportunity and challenge to constantly grow, and even though most of the time I feel like I'm sprinting to try and keep up, the amount of personal and professional growth I've experienced being at the Center is beyond what I could have asked or hoped for. I love working with such a brilliant team that cares so deeply about generating good in the world- it's inspiring. And it's fun.We laugh a lot together too. That's mandatory!