Team Rise
Comprised of experienced community organizers and human rights defenders, below are some of our team members.
Angelina Trang Huỳnh
Co-founder, Executive director
Angelina has been an advocate for democracy and human rights in Vietnam for many years. She has previously held leadership roles in international advocacy, public relations, media engagement, and building Internet freedom programs for Vietnamese netizens. In September 2019, she co-founded Rise to focus on providing movement support and community building.
Through Rise, she aims to bring practical ideas to serve affected communities. With a degree in Economics and Management from Northern Europe, she leverages her management experience to build a strong and extensive Rise community.
Nguyễn Khoa Diệu Quyên
advisory board member
Diệu Quyên is a dedicated educator with over 25 years experience. She has a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computer Engineering. Dreaming of becoming a teacher since childhood, she returned to university to complete a teaching program. As a member of the advisory board of Rise, Diệu Quyên advises Rise on effective pedagogical methods to enhance the quality of learning and, especially, the ability to apply practical knowledge in community service. Currently, Diệu Quyên is a high school teacher at a public school in Southern California. She is known as a television spokesperson and actively supports charitable programs and disaster relief efforts in Vietnam.
With numerous significant contributions and achievements, in 2009, Diệu Quyên was honored with the prestigious "Woman of the Year" award by the California State Assembly.
Nguyễn Hùng
advisory board member
With experience in journalism and a passion for social media, Hùng advises Rise in developing training courses on digital communications and integrating PR strategies into community building.
Hùng previously wrote for the Vietnam Investment Review in the 1990s. He was selected by the United Nations as one of the few deserving Asian journalists to receive the award named after former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. His journalism career led him to London in 2000, where he worked for the BBC as a reporter and Deputy Editor of the BBC Vietnamese Service. Additionally, he was responsible for social media in East Asia and digital content in South Asia for the BBC World Service.
Currently, he is a lecturer in Digital Journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Nhà báo Tina Hà Giang
Board of Advisors
A journalist, Tina Hà Giang has a Master's degree in Business Administration. Before entering the field of journalism, Hà Giang worked for 15 years in business management, finance, and computer hardware manufacturing.
Yearning to return to her roots and fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a journalist, Hà Giang began occasionally writing articles for various publications in 2003. Her writings, often centered around topics related to Vietnam, led to her role as a correspondent for Radio Free Asia. In August 2008, Hà Giang made the decisive leap into journalism, and thus began the journey of a full-time reporter.
During her tenure at Người Việt newspaper, Hà Giang produced numerous series on politics, economics, and society that garnered much attention. She has since retired after a stint working with BBC Vietnamese in Bangkok, Thailand, as an Editor.
In addition to her journalistic and professional endeavors, Hà Giang actively participates in community work, teaching Vietnamese to children at the Hong Bang Vietnamese Language Center, providing basic computer instruction to the elderly, and supporting organizations striving for societal change in Vietnam.
Vũ Tường
Board of Advisors
Professor Vũ Tường is a professor and Head of the Department of Political Science as well as the Director of the US-Vietnam Research Center at the University of Oregon University. He has held visiting appointments at Princeton University and the National University of Singapore, and has taught at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Professor Vũ Tường's research and teaching focus on the field of "comparative politics," exploring the formation and development of regimes, nationalism, and revolutions in East Asia.
Trinh Nguyễn
Co-founder, Head of Operations & Safety
Trinh is a holistic security and movement building trainer. Trinh has over 15 years of training experience, previously working on campaigns for reproductive justice, Internet freedom, and pro-democracy efforts in Vietnam. As a movement building trainer, she incorporates capacity building and cybersecurity tactics to help diverse grassroots pro-democracy and human rights movements achieve digital resiliency and organizational security.
She has contributed to many cybersecurity tools and guides for human rights defenders and those seeking abortion access, including the Ford Foundation’s Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT). She is a founding board member of Horizontal, a tech nonprofit that develops tools for human rights documentation, privacy protection, and digital security.
With many years of experience in providing security training for many movement organizations in east Africa, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Cuba she brings to the Rise community knowledge and connections with movements around the world.
Trinity Phạm
Co-founder, Head of Incubation Program
Trinity has a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of California San Diego. She has been involved in social movements since high school. Later, she became deeply engaged in human rights activism, particularly in the field of international advocacy.
Trinity is a familiar face in Vietnamese diaspora media. She often appears in panel discussions on social issues and serves as the executive producer of beloved cultural and entertainment TV programs. As a young entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in marketing, Trinity has held various executive positions and founded Infinity EMC, a marketing consulting service to support businesses.
Drawing from her diverse experiences, Trinity aims to develop Rise into an effective platform to support individuals and civic groups in Vietnam.