UPDATED: September 2, 2021
THANH VAN NGUYEN is an actor, educator, writer, grants consultant, and Vietnamese interpreter, proficient in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish. He grew up in Whitehall, Ohio and now lives in New York.
Personal and professional interests include Asian, Vietnamese, Pilipino American community advocacy; acting; arts, entertainment, and media; community engagement and education; equity, diversity, and inclusion; ethnicity and race; language interpretation and translation; social justice; and teaching and learning.
At the core, Thanh wants to make the world a better place for current and future generations through building meaningful relationships and exchanging knowledge, skills, and opportunities.
Personal and professional interests include Asian, Vietnamese, Pilipino American community advocacy; acting; arts, entertainment, and media; community engagement and education; equity, diversity, and inclusion; ethnicity and race; language interpretation and translation; social justice; and teaching and learning.
At the core, Thanh wants to make the world a better place for current and future generations through building meaningful relationships and exchanging knowledge, skills, and opportunities.
Photo by: Onyero Anikwe
ACTING/PERFORMING
Thanh has acted on: Television: Pause With Sam Jay (HBO Max), Theatre: Script to Screen Live Read (DC Asian Pacific American Film Fest), A Fit of Pique/A Walk in the Ocean (Raconteur Theatre), Arsenic and Old Lace (Worthington Community Theatre), InterACT’s So What Are You? /Hot Moments in the Classroom (The Ohio State University), InterACT’s Easing the Transition (The Ohio State University), Breaking Ground’s Lysistrata, Bent (The Ohio State University). He was awarded with an Outstanding Contribution to Outreach and Diversity for his work with InterACT.
During undergrad, he performed in several roles as an events host, a Pilipino folk dancer, and hip-hop dancer for various Vietnamese and Pilipino American cultural community events and sang in University Chorus as a Baritone/Tenor II.
During undergrad, he performed in several roles as an events host, a Pilipino folk dancer, and hip-hop dancer for various Vietnamese and Pilipino American cultural community events and sang in University Chorus as a Baritone/Tenor II.
TEACHING
Thanh works with diverse groups such as adults/seniors, students in grades K-16, Asian Pacific Islander Americans, people of color, immigrants/refugees, first generation and low-income students, English language learners (ESL/ESOL), international students, and individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities.
He has taught courses and workshops on arts appreciation, Asian Pacific Islander American culture/identity, acting (contemporary & Shakespeare), career development/resume coaching, conversational English, elementary/middle school math and reading, equity/diversity/inclusion, leadership development, and Vietnamese/Pilipino American culture/identity.
Companies and organizations include: the Museum of Modern Art, Primary Stages, Seendio, LLC, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Central Community House, Midwest Asian American Student Union, Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture, Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Midwest, Asian American Community Service’s Healthy Asian Youth Program, and the Midwest Association of Filipino Americans.
He has taught courses and workshops on arts appreciation, Asian Pacific Islander American culture/identity, acting (contemporary & Shakespeare), career development/resume coaching, conversational English, elementary/middle school math and reading, equity/diversity/inclusion, leadership development, and Vietnamese/Pilipino American culture/identity.
Companies and organizations include: the Museum of Modern Art, Primary Stages, Seendio, LLC, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Central Community House, Midwest Asian American Student Union, Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture, Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Midwest, Asian American Community Service’s Healthy Asian Youth Program, and the Midwest Association of Filipino Americans.
SPEAKING
Thanh presented his research on teaching artists of color at the Black Student Network’s Diversity in Research Practice Conference: Afrofuturism: Redefining and Reimagining Futures and at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education’s New Guard Debut Panel. He was a featured panelist, on the topic of intersectionality in Asian American identity, and workshop facilitator at the Midwest Asian American Student Union Spring Conference.
WRITING
Thanh published his first article: Recruitment and Selection of Teaching Artists of Color in Nonprofit Theatre Arts Education in the Teaching Artist Journal under Routledge/Taylor and Francis. This work was featured on “Student Highlights” in the Arts and Humanities Department weekly newsletter and on “Alumni Spotlights” News on the Alumni Relations website at Teachers College.
GENERAL ARTS
Currently, Thanh works on-call in visitor services at the Paley Center for Media.
Thanh has read and evaluated new play manuscripts for the 2020 Writing Fellowship and Scratchpad Series at the Playwrights Realm and for general literary submissions at Primary Stages. In 2018, he volunteered as a conference registration staff member at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference. Thanh joined the 2015 cohort of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Ground Floor Summer Lab Ambassadors, where he supported new play development with artists such as Naomi Iizuka and Rachel Dickstein.
As part of the 2013 Leadership in Action intern class at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc., he and his colleagues created an interactive photography exhibit: (FACE)ing Immigration, that featured 16 immigration stories from 16 APIDA individuals.
He was the first Saysay Project intern and co-curated the Saysay Pavilion at the Festival of Pilipino Arts and Culture produced within the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture (FILAM ARTS). He was recognized from the State of California’s Senator Ted Lieu for his work with FILAM ARTS in the Southern California Filipino American community.
In 2013, he also assisted filmmaker: Jason DaSilva at his Los Angeles film premiere of: When I Walk and worked onsite with Asian American artists and production staff at Kollaboration Los Angeles and National Talent Shows.
Previously, Thanh served as an usher for the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts and as a construction volunteer at the Steel Yard in Providence, Rhode Island.
Thanh has read and evaluated new play manuscripts for the 2020 Writing Fellowship and Scratchpad Series at the Playwrights Realm and for general literary submissions at Primary Stages. In 2018, he volunteered as a conference registration staff member at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference. Thanh joined the 2015 cohort of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Ground Floor Summer Lab Ambassadors, where he supported new play development with artists such as Naomi Iizuka and Rachel Dickstein.
As part of the 2013 Leadership in Action intern class at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc., he and his colleagues created an interactive photography exhibit: (FACE)ing Immigration, that featured 16 immigration stories from 16 APIDA individuals.
He was the first Saysay Project intern and co-curated the Saysay Pavilion at the Festival of Pilipino Arts and Culture produced within the Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture (FILAM ARTS). He was recognized from the State of California’s Senator Ted Lieu for his work with FILAM ARTS in the Southern California Filipino American community.
In 2013, he also assisted filmmaker: Jason DaSilva at his Los Angeles film premiere of: When I Walk and worked onsite with Asian American artists and production staff at Kollaboration Los Angeles and National Talent Shows.
Previously, Thanh served as an usher for the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts and as a construction volunteer at the Steel Yard in Providence, Rhode Island.
COMMUNITY ADVOCACY/ENGAGEMENT
Currently, Thanh serves as a scholarship reviewer and resume coach with APIA Scholars.
Previously, he volunteered as part of conference registration staff for Southeast Asia Resource Action Center’s 2017 Summit, Privilege Institute’s 2017 White Privilege Conference, and Asian American Advancing Justice’s 2012 Conference
He has served on many Asian, Pilipino and Vietnamese American nonprofit community organizations.
Leadership roles included serving as: the 2014 Vietnamese Interacting As One Conference Entertainment Director, an Executive Board Member of the 2011 Midwest Association of Filipino Americans Spring Conference, part of the Council of State Representatives (Ohio) from 2009-2011 in the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Midwest, and an Executive Board Member with the Vietnamese Student Association, OSU Chapter.
He served on events staff committees in Programming, Registration, Marketing and Sponsorship in the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations, Midwest Asian American Student Union, and the Pilipino Student Association, OSU Chapter.
Thanh participated in the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association’s Len Duong Camp to build skills in Vietnamese community organizing and in Sunflower Mission’s Work Camp in Vietnam to support the building of schools and its students.
Additionally, he volunteered in the community, serving meals and boxing groceries with Immokalee Friendship House (Naples, FL) and Gladden Food Pantry (Columbus, OH).
He was awarded with the Multicultural Center’s Outstanding Program/Event Achievement Award at the Ohio State University (2014), the 2012-2013 Unsung Hero Award, the Asian American Institute’s Advancing Justice Conference Scholarship (2012) and the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association Len Duong Camp’s Linh D. Hoang Scholarship (2011) for his community organizing work in the Asian, Vietnamese, and Pilipino American communities.
Previously, he volunteered as part of conference registration staff for Southeast Asia Resource Action Center’s 2017 Summit, Privilege Institute’s 2017 White Privilege Conference, and Asian American Advancing Justice’s 2012 Conference
He has served on many Asian, Pilipino and Vietnamese American nonprofit community organizations.
Leadership roles included serving as: the 2014 Vietnamese Interacting As One Conference Entertainment Director, an Executive Board Member of the 2011 Midwest Association of Filipino Americans Spring Conference, part of the Council of State Representatives (Ohio) from 2009-2011 in the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Midwest, and an Executive Board Member with the Vietnamese Student Association, OSU Chapter.
He served on events staff committees in Programming, Registration, Marketing and Sponsorship in the Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations, Midwest Asian American Student Union, and the Pilipino Student Association, OSU Chapter.
Thanh participated in the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association’s Len Duong Camp to build skills in Vietnamese community organizing and in Sunflower Mission’s Work Camp in Vietnam to support the building of schools and its students.
Additionally, he volunteered in the community, serving meals and boxing groceries with Immokalee Friendship House (Naples, FL) and Gladden Food Pantry (Columbus, OH).
He was awarded with the Multicultural Center’s Outstanding Program/Event Achievement Award at the Ohio State University (2014), the 2012-2013 Unsung Hero Award, the Asian American Institute’s Advancing Justice Conference Scholarship (2012) and the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association Len Duong Camp’s Linh D. Hoang Scholarship (2011) for his community organizing work in the Asian, Vietnamese, and Pilipino American communities.
ADMINISTRATIVE/DATA ENTRY/RESEARCH
Thanh has administrative, data entry and research experience, across different industries and sectors.
He entered and analyzed extensive student data for specific projects and worked the front desk for the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST).
Thanh has sorted high volumes of tax documents at the Ohio Department of Taxation during tax season. He has researched and entered marketing data for IW Group, Inc. and he also interned in volunteer resources at the American Red Cross of Central Ohio and Southeast Region.
As an undergraduate student, he assisted with Dr. Jeffrey Cohen’s work in the Anthropology Department at the Ohio State University.
He entered and analyzed extensive student data for specific projects and worked the front desk for the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST).
Thanh has sorted high volumes of tax documents at the Ohio Department of Taxation during tax season. He has researched and entered marketing data for IW Group, Inc. and he also interned in volunteer resources at the American Red Cross of Central Ohio and Southeast Region.
As an undergraduate student, he assisted with Dr. Jeffrey Cohen’s work in the Anthropology Department at the Ohio State University.
CAREGIVING/HOSPITAL/PERSONAL CARE
Currently, Thanh helps to support family members who have disabilities and advocates for individuals who have disabilities and their families to receive the best possible care.
He was the full-time, primary caregiver for a family member who had a stroke, and navigated the difficult experiences of finding necessary financial, health and social supports.
Previously, he provided individual, personal care services under contract with the Rehabilitation Services Commission of Ohio, and worked as a clinical assistant, at the Nisonger Center (Ohio State University Medical Center), that specializes working with individuals who have developmental or intellectual disabilities.
In high school, he was a childcare provider/babysitter at the home of a private residence.
He was the full-time, primary caregiver for a family member who had a stroke, and navigated the difficult experiences of finding necessary financial, health and social supports.
Previously, he provided individual, personal care services under contract with the Rehabilitation Services Commission of Ohio, and worked as a clinical assistant, at the Nisonger Center (Ohio State University Medical Center), that specializes working with individuals who have developmental or intellectual disabilities.
In high school, he was a childcare provider/babysitter at the home of a private residence.
CUSTOMER SERVICE/RESTAURANT/RETAIL
Thanh has customer service, restaurant, and retail work experiences.
Previously, he served as the audience concierge for the shows at Primary Stages. He bartended and sold items for the gift shop at Shakespeare Theatre Company. He helped customers with general sales at the Columbus State Community College Bookstore and at Kmart Store (Sears Holding Corporation).
In restaurants, he washed dishes and bussed tables at Harvest Pizzeria, served sushi rolls at Fusian Sushi, and delivered (and created) sandwiches at Jimmy John’s.
Previously, he served as the audience concierge for the shows at Primary Stages. He bartended and sold items for the gift shop at Shakespeare Theatre Company. He helped customers with general sales at the Columbus State Community College Bookstore and at Kmart Store (Sears Holding Corporation).
In restaurants, he washed dishes and bussed tables at Harvest Pizzeria, served sushi rolls at Fusian Sushi, and delivered (and created) sandwiches at Jimmy John’s.
EDUCATION
Thanh earned a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University and completed his thesis: Recruitment, Selection and Training of Teaching Artists of Color in Non-Profit Theatre Education, available in English at Columbia University Library Archives and in Vietnamese at The Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences under the Ministry of Education and Training, Government of Vietnam. He was awarded with TC’s General Scholarship, TC’s Minority Scholarship and the Department of Arts Administration’s Microgrant to attend the 2017 Theatre Communication Group’s Summer Conference in Portland, Oregon. Previously, he served as the 2017-2018 Co Vice-President of Student Advocates for the Arts, TC Chapter.
Thanh took classes at Shakespeare Theatre Company including Shakespeare Scene Study with Gregory Woodell, Directing with Michael Dove, and Playwriting with Stephen Spotswood. To further his writing skills, he took Playwriting with Jennifer Schlueter at the Ohio State University.
Thanh received a Bachelor of Sciences in Anthropological Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (acting/playwriting) with minors in Evolution/Ecology and Spanish from the Ohio State University. He studied abroad in Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United Kingdom, and did fieldwork and lab courses at Stone Laboratory, the oldest freshwater biological field station in the United States. He is an alumnus of the Arts Scholars Program. Additionally, he volunteered on campus as a member of Students for Fair Trade (promoting Fair Trade goods and sales practices), an English Conversation Partner with the American Language Program, a university host/orientation welcome leader at the Undergraduate Admissions/First Year Experience Office, and as a Baker West residence hall council representative.
Thanh took college courses while in high school and in the summer session between first and second year of undergrad at Columbus State Community College.
He was awarded with the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund’s General Scholarship, Walmart/Sam’s Club Foundation’s Sam Walton Community Scholarship, the Ohio Board of Regents’ Academic Competitiveness Grant, Coca-Cola Scholarship, the Office of Minority Affair’s Morrill Distinction Scholarship (full ride), Freshman Foundation Program Grant, Reusch Scholarship, the College of Arts and Sciences’ Undergraduate International Experiences Grant (United Kingdom), Honors and Scholars Center’s Short Term Study Abroad Travel Grant (Nicaragua), the Ohio Sea Grant/Stone Laboratory’s Franz Stone Scholarship, Trustees Scholarship and the Department of Theatre’s Gerald R. Black Scholarship for devising/playwriting.
Thanh took classes at Shakespeare Theatre Company including Shakespeare Scene Study with Gregory Woodell, Directing with Michael Dove, and Playwriting with Stephen Spotswood. To further his writing skills, he took Playwriting with Jennifer Schlueter at the Ohio State University.
Thanh received a Bachelor of Sciences in Anthropological Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (acting/playwriting) with minors in Evolution/Ecology and Spanish from the Ohio State University. He studied abroad in Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United Kingdom, and did fieldwork and lab courses at Stone Laboratory, the oldest freshwater biological field station in the United States. He is an alumnus of the Arts Scholars Program. Additionally, he volunteered on campus as a member of Students for Fair Trade (promoting Fair Trade goods and sales practices), an English Conversation Partner with the American Language Program, a university host/orientation welcome leader at the Undergraduate Admissions/First Year Experience Office, and as a Baker West residence hall council representative.
Thanh took college courses while in high school and in the summer session between first and second year of undergrad at Columbus State Community College.
He was awarded with the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund’s General Scholarship, Walmart/Sam’s Club Foundation’s Sam Walton Community Scholarship, the Ohio Board of Regents’ Academic Competitiveness Grant, Coca-Cola Scholarship, the Office of Minority Affair’s Morrill Distinction Scholarship (full ride), Freshman Foundation Program Grant, Reusch Scholarship, the College of Arts and Sciences’ Undergraduate International Experiences Grant (United Kingdom), Honors and Scholars Center’s Short Term Study Abroad Travel Grant (Nicaragua), the Ohio Sea Grant/Stone Laboratory’s Franz Stone Scholarship, Trustees Scholarship and the Department of Theatre’s Gerald R. Black Scholarship for devising/playwriting.
ASSESSMENT RESULTS:
DISC: I-S (Influence-Steadiness)
Myers-Briggs: ENFJ (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging)
CliftonStrengths for Students (previously: StrengthsQuest):
Restorative, Includer, Connectedness, Arranger, Positivity
DISC: I-S (Influence-Steadiness)
Myers-Briggs: ENFJ (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging)
CliftonStrengths for Students (previously: StrengthsQuest):
Restorative, Includer, Connectedness, Arranger, Positivity