Thuy Tien Tran Nguyen

Thuy Tien Tran Nguyen is the founder and director of the first deaf-led nonprofit organization in Vietnam, Psycho-Education and Applied Research Center for the Deaf (PARD) Vietnam. The nonprofit seeks to empower deaf people to become confident and independent, build capacity for deaf leaders, and raise awareness about the deaf community and sign language. Thuy built a network of 35 deaf clubs in Vietnam, launched a Sign Language News program to provide access to information for deaf people that now reaches one million people, and initiated the SignShow to showcase deaf role models to the public. She also successfully advocated for deaf teachers to take the lead on a sign language dictionary under a project led by the Ministry of Education and Training that was initially led by hearing officers. The saying, “nothing about the deaf without the deaf” encompasses the heart of Tien’s work, and she believes in an inclusive society where deaf people have full and direct participation in all decisions that impact their lives.