Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations

The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA) (Liên Hội Sinh Viên Việt Nam Bắc Mỹ Châu) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, community-based organization founded in 2004 as a means for Vietnamese organizations from across North America to network, share common resources, collaborate with one another to build strong sustainable communities, and engage in philanthropic work.

The elected Executive Board consists of a President, Internal Vice President, External Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Executive Board terms last two years. There are two other main staffing departments that are one-year roles: Cabinet and Conference. The Cabinet general committees include Alumni Relations, Civic Engagement, Information Technology, Marketing and Public Relations, Sponsorship and Development, VSAcademy, Community Safety, and Collective Philanthropy Project.

History
During the Third International Vietnamese Youth Conference in 2003 in San Diego, there were initial talks for creating a network of Vietnamese Student Associations in North America modeled after the Federal Vietnamese Students Association of Australia. Through a collaboration of the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California along with the New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association, the first North American Vietnamese Student Associations (NAVSA) conference was held in the Summer of 2004 in Boston, and with that NAVSA was born. Only with the second conference in 2005 in Chicago, was the name of NAVSA changed to The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA) to better reflect that nature of this organization as a union.

Regional Partners

 * Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California
 * Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California
 * Northwest Vietnamese Student Association
 * Southwest Union of Vietnamese Student Associations
 * Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the South
 * Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Gulf Coast
 * Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Southeast
 * Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations
 * Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of the Midwest
 * New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Associations
 * Northeast Union of Vietnamese Student Associations
 * United Vietnamese Student Associations of Eastern Canada
 * Western Canada Union of Vietnamese Student Associations
 * [Inactive: Central Union of Vietnamese Student Associations]

Conferences
The UNAVSA conference attracts hundreds of undergraduates, graduates, and young professionals from around the country participate in the multi-day event to hone their leadership skills, hold discussions with distinguished speakers, and explore issues in the Vietnamese community domestically and abroad. The majority of attendees are current and future officers of Vietnamese American student groups (VSAs, VSUs, UVSAs, etc.) seeking to develop personal leadership abilities, build organizational management skills and network with other leaders from around the country.

Collective Philanthropy Project
The CPP is an initiative created in 2004 for Vietnamese-American students and community organizations to collaborate toward a common charitable cause. The CPP's goal is to further UNAVSA's mission of developing leadership, preserving the Vietnamese heritage, and creating a unified national effort to help those in need. Each year, the top three candidates are asked to present their projects at the UNAVSA national conference. After the attendees vote, a beneficiary is announced at the conference banquet. In years past, CPP has partnered with several non-profit organizations, raising over $300,000 in the last seven years.

Presidents
The UNAVSA executive board is headed by the President. The current President is Kelly Tran, who took over from Philip Nguyen in 2022 and will conclude her term at the UNAVSA Conference in 2024. The President is responsible for the strategic direction of UNAVSA and is tasked with ensuring the organization is operating within the scope defined by its partner organizations.