Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | April 3, 2023 | wbjournal.com BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer T uyet Tran had been away from the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Mas- sachusetts for more than 15 years when the calls started coming in. "Tuyet, we really need help here. Would you consider coming back?" is what she heard on the line. Tran, a cofounder of SEACMA when it started as a small coalition of universi- ty student tutors and limited community advocates in 2001, ended up saying yes to those phone callers, coming back to the organiza- tion full time as executive director. Her return follows the departure of longtime execu- tive director Anh Vu Sawyer, who le the coalition in September 2022 aer leading it for 10 years. Less than two months from taking over the No. 1 role on Feb. 6 at the Worcester-based nonprofit, Tran is building upon the last decade of growth at the organization with plans to expand the ways it integrates the Southeast Asian community into the fabric of the city of Worcester and Central Massachu- setts at large. She is seeking out ways the coalition can upli more people. "at's the vision. As you receive help and begin to build your life and thrive, then you expand to helping newer folks," Tran said. Tran's aim with SEACMA is for its members to become thriving members of the community; she does not want to just be a service provider, but rather, through meeting needs and making op- portunities accessible, those who come to SEACMA can in turn contribute to the economy and to businesses. Among its programs is a small business develop- ment program, done in partnership with the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. Building a thriving community is an important concept for Tran; one of her action plans as executive director is to assemble a community advisory board to think about how to materialize that goal. Her other objectives will require a bit more in funding. Her most ambitious visions have associated seven-figure needs. Tran's ultimate dream is a mixed-use center to serve as a community hub and offer housing, specifically to older adults who are isolated from the larger community by language and from their families in a way that is not typical of Asian cultures. "Seeing folks being by themselves is As the Southeast Asian Coalition settles into new digs, its executive director arrives with big ambitions for its role in the community "A mixed-use center is a dream," Tuyet Tran said of next steps for the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts. PHOTOS | MATT WRIGHT Southeast Asian immigrant populations Population of Southeast Asian immigrants in Massachusetts by metro statistical area Southeast Asian Ranking among Metro area population all U.S. metro areas Boston-Cambridge-Newton 63,000 #18 Greater Worcester 9,000 #57 Greater Springfield 4,000 #108 Source: Migration Policy Institute tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2017-2021 e next leader Anh Vu Sawyer was SEACMA's executive director for a decade.

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