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Press Release
August 20, 2002
Asian &
Pacific Islander American Health Forum
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Richard
JP Cavosora
(415) 954-9981
Illinois
Public Health Official Selected as CEO of APIAHF
San Francisco, California - After a three-month search process, the
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
(APIAHF) announced today the selection of Dr. Ho Luong Tran as the
organization's new President and Chief Executive Officer.
"We are very excited about Dr. Ho Tran taking over the helm of the Health
Forum," commented Dr. Arthur Chen, Chairperson of the APIAHF Board of Directors,
"She brings with her a deep and grounded set of leadership skills with her
background as a respected leader in the Asian American community, as an
accomplished State public health official, and as an advisor at the Federal
level."
Dr. Tran has worked with the Illinois Department of Public Health in various
capacities since 1989. She has served as the Special Assistant of Asian Affairs
and the Administrator of the Refugee Health Program of the Center for Minority
Health for nearly a decade. During her stint as Special Assistant, Dr. Tran
developed a Cultural Competency curriculum that is being implemented in both
Federal and state agencies. Previous to that, Dr. Tran developed and coordinated
activities of the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Plan.
Currently, Dr. Tran serves as a member of the National Advisory Committee on
Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She also serves
as Chair of the Chicago Mayor's Advisory Council on Immigrant and Refugee
Affairs. She helped establish the Asian Health Coalition of Illinois, and once
served in the Illinois Governor's Asian American Council as co-Chair. Dr. Tran
is also serving her second term as President of the Vietnamese American
Community in Illinois.
"Dr. Tran possesses a broad understanding of health issues as a public health
official and physician," added Dr. Chen. "She also embodies the hopes,
experiences, and accomplishments of many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders."
Dr. Tran began her career in health as a physician in Vietnam, earning her
medical degree at the University of Saigon in 1972. She and her family fled the
war-ravaged country as refugees in 1978, and survived a harrowing experience of
flight by sea. Dr. Tran completed her pediatrics residency at the Rush
Presbyterian St. Luke Medical Center in Chicago, and earned a master's degree in
Public Health from the University of Illinois in 1989. In a December 2001
article titled Refugee Flashbacks after September 11, Dr. Tran wrote:
"The compassion you cultivate in your heart, the patience you nurture with
persistence, and the understanding and acceptance that no one looks or thinks
alike all contributes to the knowledge you garner to provide the best services
to your clients. The needs are immense and multi-faceted, but, rewarding. From
Ground Zero in New York City, you make people like me, the refugees, spring back
to life, hope, and productivity."
Dr. Tran will begin her position with APIAHF on October 7, 2002.
Founded in 1986, the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum is a
national policy advocacy organization that promotes the health and well-being of
Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Through policy intervention,
community capacity building, and information dissemination, APIAHF advocates for
equitable access to health care.
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