(S9, EP 3)

Rahimeh Ramezany discusses the lack of Muslim and religious groups in DEI work, and her advocacy in raising that awareness through her work. We talk about the current state of DEI, and Rahimeh shares important practices with listeners on how to be proactive as advocates and be an agency for change.

Rahimeh Ramezany (she/her) is a multiethnic, neurodiverse, Muslim American woman, and a diversity, equity, inclusion, and intercultural practitioner. She founded her DEI business in 2021 in order to train organizations on how to include Muslims and religious identity in their existing DEI efforts, while developing nuanced understandings and practical DEI skills that can be applied across identity groups.

Rahimeh leverages her lived experiences at the intersections of multiple marginalized and privileged identities, a master’s degree in intercultural communication, and years of professional DEI experience to address the often deeply uncomfortable but nonetheless essential work of making our spaces inclusive and equitable for all.

For more: visit her at www.rahimehramezany.com

(S9, EP 2)

Kahmora Hall chats about her upbringing as a queer Viet American, and the challenging conversations she had with her parents about getting into drag performance. She spoke about her experience being on RuPaul's Drag Race, the current drag ban and anti-LGBTQ legislation happening in recent times, and so much more!

Bio:

Retired Chicago veteran news anchor Linda Yu kicks off my season 9 opener as we talk about her decades-long career in Chicago news television, what it was like to navigate the news media industry as an Asian American woman, and more.

Bio:

Linda Yu has been called a trailblazer, mentor and award- journalist. She recently stepped back from daily broadcasting after more than forty years in television news.

Yu began her career in 1974 as a writer for the Los Angeles ABC station KABC-TV and then went on to become a writer/producer at KTLA-TV. In 1975 she stepped in front of the camera as a reporter for the ABC affiliate station in Portland, Oregon KATU-TV. Within months, she received an offer from ABC owned station KGO-TV in San Francisco as reporter and anchor, where Yu worked from to 1979.

In late 1979, she was spotted by the NBC owned station in Chicago, WMAQ-TV, and moved to the Windy City as weekend anchor and reporter. Part of Yu’s motivation for accepting the position was that she would be the first Asian American to appear on a Chicago network station. Five years later, ABC won her back and she moved to Chicago’s ABC7, WLS-TV, to anchor the station’s newly created 4 p.m. news hour. Later, an 11 a.m. news hour was added to her anchor duties. Both news programs maintained their number one rating throughout her 33 year career at ABC7.

Among the honors and recognition for Yu are six local Emmy awards, as well as induction into the prestigious “Silver Circle” of legendary Chicago broadcasters. She has been named one of Today’s Chicago Women magazine’s “100 Women to Watch” and has been awarded a National Gold Medal by the National Conference of Community and Justice.

In her community service, Yu spent more than 30 years as the Advisory Board Chairperson for the Chinese American Service League. She is also a co-founder of the Chicago chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association. She has been an active supporter and volunteer for Common Threads, the Juvenile Protective Association and the March of Dimes.

Yu is the author of “Living and Working in America”, a book published in Chinese and sold in China.

(S8 Finale) Check out my interview with Tuan Huynh, founder of VietFive Coffee which is the featured sponsor of the 8th season of the podcast.

Bio:

Tuan Huynh, founder of VietFive Coffee, is also an award-winning Creative Director, business man, and community organizer. He fled to the U.S. as a toddler and refugee from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Growing up in the Midwest, he has developed a uniquely diverse sense of creativity. This experience has afforded him recognition from global fortune 500 brands, receiving the Mosaic Champion by the American Advertising Federation and named one of 2019’s Most Inspiring Chicagoans by Streetwise Magazine.

Aside from his sharp design talent, Tuan’s work in the arena of diversity and inclusion is tireless and expansive – both within the ad industry and beyond. He is responsible for instituting a youth program at Leo Burnett that invites Chicago youth to learn first-hand about careers in advertising. Over 800 students have been provided the opportunity to immerse themselves in the exploration of new professional avenues. Tuan also partnered with local organizations to develop a creative lab in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the Southside. Tuan also spearheaded The Pencil Project which is a collegiate scholarship program where students submit their creative portfolios defining why they are “the difference that makes a difference.” Additionally, Tuan became founding member of Chicago PEACE, a nonprofit that seeks to create positive generational impact with the focus on families.

Today, he is able to combine both his experiences in advertising and philanthropic work to elevate his family’s coffee story through his company VietFive Coffee. VietFive Coffee is serving up authentic Vietnamese coffee, grown and harvested in the place of his birth, roasted in Chicago and served at their west loop location (1116 W. Madison).

VietFive Coffee: Start your day right with VietFive Coffee. Freshly grown coffee harvested straight from Vietnam and roasted in Chicago, VietFive offers rich quality tasting Vietnamese coffee straight to your soul. Visit VietFive Coffee in Chicago to grab a fresh cup and a Banh Mi to go along with it, or go to www.vietfive.com and use the code in all Caps: VMNCHIV5 to get 15% off your purchase.

Circa Pintig: Circa-Pintig stands for The Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts and Pintig meaning “Pulse” in the Filipinx language.- CIRCA Pintig is a 501c3 organization that engages communities through the power of the arts to challenge injustice and transcend social change. Circa Pintig produces timely works to provide education, activation, and advocacy. For information about upcoming events and to learn about how to get involved, visit www.circapintig.org

(S8, EP 12)

Meet Ginger Leopoldo, Executive Director of Circa Pintig, sponsor of the 8th season of The Banh Mi Chronicles, and learn about Circa Pintig's work in Chicago.

Bio:

Ginger Leopoldo is an educator, actor, director, producer, and community organizer. She is the founding Artistic Director of the Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts (CIRCA), and Executive Director of CIRCA Pintig. Her work includes performing, directing, producing, and facilitating theatre productions and workshops for all ages. Ginger has over 20 years of experience as a teaching artist and literacy coach for public school teachers. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in organizational leadership focusing on the pedagogy of the Theatre of the Oppressed, popular education, and diaspora. She is a TEAACH Act PD facilitator with Asian American Advancing Justice Chicago and serves as an advisor for several community boards including the Chicago History Museum, UIC's Global Asian Studies (GLAS) Community and Advisory Board, and Digital Tapestries. Ginger is a proud 1.75-generation Filipino American and lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.

Sponsored by:

VietFive Coffee: Start your day right with VietFive Coffee.  Freshly grown coffee harvested straight from Vietnam and roasted in Chicago, VietFive offers rich quality tasting Vietnamese coffee straight to your soul.  Visit VietFive Coffee in Chicago to grab a fresh cup and a Banh Mi to go along with it, or go to ⁠www.vietfive.com⁠ and use the code in all Caps: VMNCHIV5 to get 15% off your purchase.

Circa-Pintig: The Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts - CIRCA Pintig is a 501c3 engaging communities through the power of the arts to challenge injustice and transcend social change. CIRCA Pintig produces timely works to provide education, activation, and advocacy. For information about upcoming events and to learn about how to get involved, visit ⁠www.circapintig.org

(S8, EP 11): On this week's episode, I invited past guest and poet Dr. Joshua Nguyen to be a special guest host. He interviewed Susan Nguyen, author of her poetry collection, "Dear Diaspora" about heroes and villains during this conversation.

Bio:

Susan Nguyen's debut poetry collection, Dear Diaspora (University of Nebraska Press, 2021) won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and was a finalist for the Julie Suk Award. Her poems have been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize and have appeared or are forthcoming in The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A-Day series, The American Poetry Review, The Rumpus, Tin House, Diagram, and elsewhere. The recipient of fellowships from the AZ Commission on the Arts, the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, and the 2022 Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize from the American Poetry Review, she currently serves as the senior editor of Hayden’s Ferry Review.

Joshua Nguyen is the author of Come Clean (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021), winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, the Writers' League of Texas Discovery Award, and the  Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Poetry Award. He is also the author of the chapbook, American Lục Bát for My Mother (Bull City Press, 2021), and the craft-chapbook, Hidden Labor & The Naked Body (Sundress Publications, 2023). He is a Vietnamese-American writer, a collegiate national poetry slam champion (CUPSI), and a native Houstonian. He has received fellowships from Kundiman, Tin House, Sundress Academy For The Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. He is the Wit Tea co-editor for The Offing Mag, the Kundiman South co-chair, a bubble tea connoisseur, and loves a good pun. He received his MFA/PhD from The University of Mississippi and currently teaches creative writing at Tufts University.

Sponsored by:

VietFive Coffee: Start your day right with VietFive Coffee.  Freshly grown coffee harvested straight from Vietnam and roasted in Chicago, VietFive offers rich quality tasting Vietnamese coffee straight to your soul.  Visit VietFive Coffee in Chicago to grab a fresh cup and a Banh Mi to go along with it, or go to www.vietfive.com and use the code in all Caps: VMNCHIV5 to get 15% off your purchase.

Circa-Pintig: The Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts - CIRCA Pintig is a 501c3 engaging communities through the power of the arts to challenge injustice and transcend social change. CIRCA Pintig produces timely works to provide education, activation, and advocacy. For information about upcoming events and to learn about how to get involved, visit www.circapintig.org

(S8, EP 10): For this week's episode, former guest Tony Ho Tran takes my place as a special guest host, and interviews Lan Samantha Chang, author of her latest novel, "The Family Chao".

Bio:

(S8, EP 9) For this week, I invited Ko Chandetka, an award-winning body builder to the show.  We talked about his family’s resettlement in Elgin, IL after the Lao Civil War, his development as a body builder, and his recovery from addiction and more.  You won’t want to miss this episode! Thank you and enjoy the listen!

Bio:

Born in Mukdahan, Thailand, Ko Chandetka spent his early years living in Savannakhet, Laos. His father was a member of the royal Lao army and his family fled Laos after the Lao Civil War. They settled in the United States as refugees in 1975 and Ko grew up in Elgin, IL.. Ko began working out in his parents’ basement after being bullied and inspired by super heroes as a child. He became a competitive bodybuilder in 1991 winning his first NPC title through 2003.  Ko would compete in numerous competitions before an injury sent him down a path of drug addiction, depression and alcoholism. After seeking help, Ko was able to return to the sport, earn an IFBB Pro card and place at the 2016 Mr. Olympia contest. He co-founded the Lao American Sports Hall of Fame (www.laoamericansports.com) in 2022 and is the host of the SEA4 Podcast: Southeast Asian Athlete Achievement &; Adversity. Ko currently resides in South Elgin, IL and is a Bodybuilding consultant (www.gkomotivation.com).

Sponsored by:

VietFive Coffee: Start your day right with VietFive Coffee.  Freshly grown coffee harvested straight from Vietnam and roasted in Chicago, VietFive offers rich quality tasting Vietnamese coffee straight to your soul.  Visit VietFive Coffee in Chicago to grab a fresh cup and a Banh Mi to go along with it, or go to www.vietfive.com and use the code in all Caps: VMNCHIV5 to get 15% off your purchase.

Circa-Pintig: The Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts - CIRCA Pintig is a 501c3 engaging communities through the power of the arts to challenge injustice and transcend social change. CIRCA Pintig produces timely works to provide education, activation, and advocacy. For information about upcoming events and to learn about how to get involved, visit www.circapintig.org

Bio:

Born and raised in Việt Nam, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is the author of the international bestseller The Mountains Sing, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the 2020 BookBrowse Best Debut Award, the 2021 International Book Awards, the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship for Fiction. She has published twelve books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Vietnamese and English and has received some of the top literary prizes in Việt Nam. Her writing has been translated into twenty languages and has appeared in major publications, including the New York Times. She has a PhD in creative writing from Lancaster University. She is an advocate for the rights of disadvantaged groups in Việt Nam and has founded several scholarship programs, and she was named by Forbes Vietnam as one of twenty inspiring women of 2021. Dust Child is her second novel. For more information, visit: www.nguyenphanquemai.com.

VietFive Coffee: Start your day right with VietFive Coffee.  Freshly grown coffee harvested straight from Vietnam and roasted in Chicago, VietFive offers rich quality tasting Vietnamese coffee straight to your soul.  Visit VietFive Coffee in Chicago to grab a fresh cup and a Banh Mi to go along with it, or go to www.vietfive.com and use the code in all Caps: VMNCHIV5 to get 15% off your purchase.

CIRCA-Pintig: Circa-Pintig stands for The Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts and Pintig meaning “Pulse” in the Filipinx language.- CIRCA Pintig is a 501c3 organization that engages communities through the power of the arts to challenge injustice and transcend social change. Circa Pintig produces timely works to provide education, activation, and advocacy. For information about upcoming events and to learn about how to get involved, visit www.circapintig.org

(S8, EP 7)

For this week's episode, my good friend Amy M. Le who has appeared in two of my episodes is back again on the podcast, this time as a guest host as she interviews our friend and writer, Christina Vo.  Amy chats up with Christina about the loss of her mom when she was a teenager, her writing journey, and her debut memoir, “The Veil Between Two Worlds” set to come out in April.

Bio:

Guest: Christina Vo is a writer who previously worked for international organizations in Vietnam and Switzerland, including UNICEF and the World Economic Forum. She also ran a floral design business in San Francisco, as well as worked as a donor relations writer for the University of California, San Francisco. Christina is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently rides in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Veil Between Two Worlds , which will be published in April 2023, is her first book.

Guest Host: 

Amy M. Le was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States at the age of five with her mother and cousin.  She is a Vietnam War survivor and Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) warrior. Amy lived in the Pacific Northwest most of her life and currently calls Oklahoma her home. Before becoming an author, publisher, and speaker, Amy found success at tech companies working with the C-suite and board of directors. Today she is the founder of Quill Hawk Publishing, an Asian American, woman-owned indie-publishing company dedicated to amplifying diverse voices. Amy co-founded The Heart Community Collection, a resource for the CHD community, sits on the board of the Vietnamese Boat People organization, and serves as an officer for several writing organizations.

Sponsored by:

VietFive Coffee: Start your day right with VietFive Coffee.  Freshly grown coffee harvested straight from Vietnam and roasted in Chicago, VietFive offers rich quality tasting Vietnamese coffee straight to your soul.  Visit VietFive Coffee in Chicago to grab a fresh cup and a Banh Mi to go along with it, or go to www.vietfive.com and use the code in all Caps: VMNCHIV5 to get 15% off your purchase.

Circa-Pintig: The Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts - CIRCA Pintig is a 501c3 engaging communities through the power of the arts to challenge injustice and transcend social change. CIRCA Pintig produces timely works to provide education, activation, and advocacy. For information about upcoming events and to learn about how to get involved, visit www.circapintig.org