OUR FOUNDERS

Huu Dinh Nguyen | |Co-Founder

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huu is also affectionately known as Uncle or “Bac” Huu. His vision constantly guides us as we continue to carry on his commitment to the protection and care of our vulnerable children.

For over 25 years, Bac Huu advocated for vulnerable children in the United States, and refugee camps in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, and now in central Vietnam. In the refugee camps, the agonizing conditions under which unaccompanied minors were living, and the hindered progress of thousands who were repatriated to Vietnam, inspired him to organize assistance projects, including our highly successful shelter in the Xuan Phu neighborhood of Hue. His selfless dedication and fervent belief that all children should be treated “as if they were our own” is the compass needle that steers our Team as we face of adversity, whether it be challenges in fundraising or navigating through the bureaucracies that we encounter while doing this important work.

James M. Freeman | Co-Founder

Co-Founder and former Chairman of the Board James M. Freeman (Ph.D. Harvard) was Chair of the Board of Directors of Friends of Hue Foundation from 2000-2006. He is an Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at San Jose State University, a former Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, winner of an American Book Award for Hearts of Sorrow: Vietnamese-American Lives, and co-author, with FHF Founder Nguyen DinhHuu, of Voices from the Camps: Vietnamese Children Seeking Asylum, which describes their assistance activities for unaccompanied minor children.

Lieu T. Dang | Co-Founder

Until her passing in January 2021, Ms. Lieu Dang dedicated her life to serving the refugees for years via her work at the International Rescue Committee and the Friends of Huế Foundation. At the Children’s Shelter, Ms. Lieu’s love immensely by the children, who saw her as the grandmother of Friends of Huế. We mourn her loss immensely and will continue honoring her life by living out the hopes that she had for the growth of the children who have made Friends of Huế home with us.