VietAID – Press Release on December 5, 2016

va head (E)Press Release
December 5, 2016

Dear members of the Vietnamese and Fields Corner community:

VietAID was created in 1994 by community leaders who believed that a community-based development corporation would provide comprehensive economic development programs and services to reduce poverty and alienation in the Vietnamese community of Fields Corner. VietAID’s mission is to build a strong Vietnamese community and a vibrant Fields Corner by promoting civic engagement; building affordable housing and commercial development; providing small business technical assistance and micro-enterprise development; and offering high quality child care services.

This has been a time of transition and growth for VietAID. We would like to share recent events to help the community better understand where the organization is in its development.

We are excited to announce that Jeff Katz, MPA, MSW is serving as Interim Executive Director. A senior non-profit consultant, Jeff specializes in organizational development, fundraising, and management. He was Executive Director of two organizations, including Adoption Rhode Island, for 14 years. He has served as an Interim Executive Director for 8 organizations, each time resulting in a turnaround. He has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Masters Degree in Social Work from Boston University. Having stable, professional, leadership will allow the Board of Directors of VietAID to conduct a thorough, national, search for a long-term Executive Director. In the meantime, VietAID’s programming continues to be an anchor, providing strong programs for a community greatly in need.

We are also pleased to announce that Hương Phạm has joined the VietAID team as Director of Community Organizing. Hương is from Los Angeles, California and earned her Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Southern California. She has experience with community advocacy/outreach and has worked to promote social justice with various organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Bay Area Legal Aid.

In addition, Eric Fellinger has joined the team as the Director of Real Estate. Eric brings experience from a diversity of perspectives to this position. As a professional planner, he has worked for agencies at the state, regional, and local levels, and has sat on a number of development and design review boards. Eric has also worked as a private consultant in permitting for real estate and transportation.

Finally, the Board of Directors of VietAID is in a period of rejuvenation, with many new board members and only two board members from before 2016.

While VietAID has clearly been in a period of transition, the organization is building the foundation for a period of stability and growth. We look forward to working with everyone in our community to build a strong Vietnamese community and a vibrant Fields Corner.