Executive Committee

VAAFA Chairman and Executive Director

Mr. Ross Nguyen (Lieutenant Colonel, US Army-retired)

Ross Nguyen is VAAFA’s Chairperson and Executive Director as of 1 October 2012.  As the Executive Director, Ross provides leadership, guidance, and support to all VAAFA Deputy Directors and Regional Leaders so they can perform their assigned duties.  As the Chairperson, Ross is the voice of the VAAFA Board of Directors in their roles of shaping VAAFA strategic mission, goals, and directions.

Ross retired from the United States Army after 28 years of Active Duty as Lieutenant Colonel of the Corps of Engineers in May 2012.  In his last active duty assignment, Ross was the Executive Officer for the Deputy Director for Requirements, Joint Staff J-8.    During his time in the United States Army, he was Platoon Leader, Company Commander, Battalion Operations Officer, and Battalion Executive Officer.  He also served in numerous staff officer assignments from Division, to Army, to Corps of Engineers District and Headquarters levels, to SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Power Europe), then to the Department of the Army Staff.  In 2005, Ross volunteered to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  He was assigned as the Engineer Force Protection Officer for the Multi-National Forces Iraq (MNFI).  During this tour of duty, Ross conducted force protection assessment in over 40 Forward Operating Bases throughout Iraq.  In his last four months, he was assigned as the chief engineer force protection officer for the Iraqi Tier-2 (all Iraqi legislative officials).

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Ross Nguyen is a graduated of Oklahoma State University in Mechanical Engineering, and received his MBA from the University of Maryland System in Mons, Belgium.  He received his commission as an officer from the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in April 1984.  As a senior Captain, Ross was the first Vietnamese-American Commissioned Officer to receive the prestigious General MacArthur Leadership Award from the United States Army in 1993.

Ross was born in Ban Me Thuot (Central High Land), South Vietnam.  In 1975, he and his family became the first Vietnamese refugees to settle in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Ross now lives in Springfield, Virginia outside Washington DC with his wife, Dr. Tearrah Cristiani-Nguyen, and four children.  His third child, oldest son, Vincarlo Nguyen, is a third year cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

VAAFA Deputy Executive Director

Commander Mimi Phan, USPHS

In 2005, CDR Phan received her commission to the United States Public Health Service as a Senior Assistant Pharmacist.  Her first assignment was with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Office of Executive Program, where she was the Designated Federal Officer for 3 of 16 FDA advisory committees in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.  In 2008, she transferred to the Office of Translational Sciences (OTS), where she served as a Senior Regulatory Review Officer.

In 2010, CDR Phan transferred to the Department of Defense-Health Affairs, Tricare Management Activity, Military Health System Cyberinfrastructure Services (DoD-HA/TMA/MCiS) as the Chief for Quality Improvement and Risk Management.   Two years later, CDR Phan transferred to another program office within TMA, the Interagency Program Office, where she is currently serving as the Chief of Clinical Specialties.

CDR Phan is a member of the Rapid Deployment Force, PHS-2 (Second 2 None!), and her team consisting of 127 officers, where she is the Deputy Chief for the Planning Section.  In this capacity, she oversees 4 branches: Documentation, Officer Readiness, Resource Planning & Situation and Mobilization.

CDR Phan’s awards and decorations include: Joint Services Achievement Medal, PHS Achievement Medal, PHS Special Assignment Medal with One Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, PHS Response to Crisis Medal, PHS Unit Commendation Medal with One Silver Star and One Bronze Star, PHS Field Medical Readiness Badge, PHS Basic Officer Training Ribbon,  2010 FDA, Scientific Achievement Award: Outstanding Inter-center Scientific Collaboration and 2009 FDA, Scientific Achievement Award: Excellence in Analytical Science.

CDR Phan graduated from Howard University, College of Pharmacy, with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1999, and completed the pharmacy general practice residency the following year at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA.

VAAFA Deputy Director for Operations

Commander Tuan Nguyen, USN

CDR Tuan Nguyen, USN has served in the United States Navy for 28 years as an intelligence officer, communications officer, program manager, and acquisitions officer. He lives in Virginia Beach, VA with his wife Khanh and two sons.

VAAFA Senior Enlisted Advisor

Mr. John Tran (Master Chief Petty Officer, US Navy-retired)