Meet our Speakers

Thanh-Thuy Nguyen

Major, Covert Operations Group: Swan, Republic of Vietnam
13 years “Re-education” Camp Survivor

Ms. Thanh-Thuy Nguyen was born in 1943 at My Tho in the south coast of Vietnam. She was a Vietnamese military officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam after graduating in the Police Officer Cadet Class I at National Police Academy. She was a major in the Covert Operations Group: Swan (COGS) Commander of the Special Forces, National Police. She earned Third-Class Achievement Medal and Second-Class Victory Medal.

After the fall of Saigon, she was detained for 13 years in the communist concentration camps. In 1992, she was settled with family in the United States under Orderly Departure Program (ODP). Currently, she serves as the President of Disabled Veterans and Widows Relief Association in the U.S.

Lauren Ngoc Lan Vuong

Attorney and Producer of “Finding The Virgo” Film
Boat People Survivor

Lauren Ngoc Lan Vuong is a Vietnamese American refugee and naturalized U.S. citizen. She attended UC Berkeley where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Lauren earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco School of Law and practices in San Francisco, CA.  She is a mother of two and a dedicated advocate for the preservation of Vietnamese American history through the arts and literature. Finding the Virgo is Lauren’s first documentary.
Finding The Virgo is the story of Lauren’s decades-long search for the heroic captain and crew of the LNG Virgo who saved her life and the lives of the other refugees. This story of compassion and gratitude traces the Vuong family’s journey from the shores of Vietnam, through their perilous journey at sea and eventually to their resettlement in America. 
Capturing the American Hope and the American Dream, this documentary is a timeless tale of war, desperation, survival, and the serendipitous heroes who embody the best of humanity. A story needed now more than ever before.