Southeast Asia
Hoa Tran: From Vietnam to American Diplomacy
Fled Vietnam at seven through Guam and Wake Island, then spent her career helping refugees in Asia.
- Fled
- Vietnam
- Status
- Refugee
- Arrived in the U.S.
- 1975
- Service
- Civil Service, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; Asia team leader
- Region
- Southeast Asia
Hoa Tran was seven when her mother woke her in the night and told her the family had to leave. Her father had worked for the South Vietnamese and U.S. governments. The family left through Cam Ranh Bay and passed through the camps on Guam and Wake Island before resettling in Atlanta.
She studied documentary photography, worked as an advocate for refugees, and earned a doctorate in anthropology. At the Department of State she joined the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, where she led the team covering assistance to refugees in Asia, including the Rohingya.
Read the history behind this story on the Vietnam page, or browse all the diplomats.