Gina Pham

Gina Pham is proud to call Houston, Texas home. Her hometown can be seen in her identity through the languages she speaks (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin Chinese – the four most common languages spread throughout Houston), her love for cooking and eating diverse cuisines, and through how often she uses the word “y’all”. Having worked as an immigration paralegal and nonprofit operations manager after undergrad, she decided to come to MIIS to further her career in nonprofit management with a focus on using data analysis to increase mission impact. She is currently a final semester MPA student at MIIS, and a third-semester member of Allies at MIIS. Growing up as a hyphenated Asian-American, the daughter/granddaughter of refugees from the Vietnam War, meant grappling with being othered, mislabeled and misunderstood, and never fully belonging to a culture despite trying to fit in. Her need and desire for a safe and brave space to dialogue about the struggles for diversity, equity, and inclusion brought her to Allies at MIIS. For her, it has been a much-needed journey in personal growth and learning how to be a committed ally for others in their struggles