Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 3, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 7 very hard," she said. e kind of center Tran envisions would require millions of dollars. "ere's a lot of work remaining for that particular dream," said Tran, but she remains optimistic in the possibility based on the success of other organiza- tions creating similar places. Fulfilling a growing need Tran came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam with her fami- ly in the mid-1970s. Her sisters, who learned English in school before they le Vietnam, helped interpret for fellow refugees in camps before the family settled in Massachusetts. Watching this, Tran realized she wanted to be able to help, too, she said. is was the catalyst for her career first as a clinical social worker and then as a project director at community providers in the behavioral health sphere, including Community Healthlink in Worcester and Behavioral Health Partners of MetroWest. While she was a social worker with Community Healthlink, assisting indi- viduals with access to housing and food, the needs of the Southeast Asian com- munity in the city came to the forefront for Tran. "ere was a large Southeast Asian community, but it was a very quiet com- munity," she said. Concerningly, said Tran, there were noticeable issues being exacerbated by language barriers. She would watch providers try to communicate with non-English speakers, and when they weren't understood, they would just speak louder. e lack of communica- tion was alarming to Tran. It was 1999, and the concept of culturally compe- tent care wasn't yet commonplace in the nonprofit sphere. SEACMA was founded to address the lack of culturally and linguistically acceptable services for Southeast Asian immigrants in the region, and its services and vision have grown from there. Before it was SEACMA, the coali- tion was mostly made up of a group of Southeast Asian college students teaching computer skills in what Tran described as a leaky old house. e group heard there was a young Vietnam- ese social worker in the area, and they invited her to help them brainstorm how to move forward. It wasn't long before they sweet talked Tran into being board chair. With less than $5,000 in the bank, the group became an official nonprofit agency in 2001. "We started with what we could," Tran said. Tran remained as board chair and then acting director until 2006, aer which point she stayed involved with fundraising but le to pursue other aspects of her career. SEACMA is critical in the Greater Worcester community, said Tim Garvin, president and CEO of the United Way of Central Massachusetts. e United Way, a social services non- profit funding programs across the region, has supported SEAC for more than a decade. "ey heal lives that have been broken," Garvin said. In Garvin's perspective, of particular praiseworthiness is the organization's youth programming. "It has allowed a cultural identity and heritage to contin- ue," said Garvin. e organization has extended its reach to help refugees from beyond the Southeast Asian region. It has wel- comed Iraqi and Afghan refugees to use its services to get situated in Central Massachusetts, something Tran did not foresee in the early 2000s, but fits with the expanded mission as SEACMA has continued to gain steam with more years under its belt. "e organization has changed, and the mission has expanded," Tran said. is does not go unnoticed in the broader nonprofit world of Greater Worcester. Garvin said the coalition has a reputation for being committed to a vast array of people and always welcome more. "ey have always found a way to say, 'Yes,'" Garvin said. SEACMA's next chapter Tran's first day back was the same day SEACMA moved offices from the Den- holm Building to the Printer's Building on Portland Street in Worcester. Tran's first few months as executive director have been good, if hectic. "It's been fun and a little bit chaotic," she said of reacquainting herself with the SEACMA of today and the task of unpacking all of the organization's assets, literally and figuratively. "e lucky part is, now I have 20 more years of experience," said Tran, who remained in Central Massachusetts as she gained increasing responsibilities at Community Healthlink. She ended up operating six programs at Community Healthlink, some of which were in part- nership with SEACMA. Now that both she and the Southeast Asian community at large are in a differ- ent position in Worcester than 20 years ago, the question is how to continue meeting the current needs. "How do you move and diversify from just receiving services and funding to contributing it back as entrepreneurs and in business?" she said she asked herself. One plan is to set up a hydroponic garden in a freight truck, where mem- bers of SEACMA can run a self-sufficient vegetable-growing operation. Tran is in the process of finding land to lease where the garden could be located. She envi- sions donating the vegetables to combat food insecurity and having members sell Asian produce and herbs in partnerships with local businesses. e price tag for this project, which Tran estimates would cost a few hun- dred-thousand dollars, seems doable, she said. SEACMA generates about $400,000 in annual revenue and has $650,000 in net assets, according to its U.S. Internal Revenue Service filing in 2019, the most recent year available on Guidestar.org. For now, Tran is energized by the youth group coming to the Printer Building in the aernoon aer school. "e center comes alive," she said. She is grateful to be able to leverage her own experiences to support the next generation, she said. "e beauty of this role is to be able to provide a face for this place. at there's a person they can come to talk to about their future. at's what happened to me in my life, and I feel good that I can give back in that way," Tran said. Email circulation@wbjournal.com for more information. WBJ Purchase a group subscription for your team or entire organization. Get access to WBJ for your entire team. W "The younger folks come in and just ask questions," Tran said. Tim Garvin, president & CEO of the United Way of Central Mass.

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