Interviewing Ben Vo: Serving Vietnamese Communities in San Jose

Ben Vo graduated from UC Berkeley a year after the shelter in place mandate was issued on March 19th, 2020 in California. He currently works at the Vietnamese American Service Center in the County of Santa Clara. Previously, Ben served as a community health worker for Working Partnerships USA. In this interview, Ben discusses how COVID has influenced his desire to continue his career in community health and communication strategies to better reach underserved communities about COVID.

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Keywords: Vietnamese-American, community organization, cultural competency, community outreach, impact of COVID on career trajectory

Index

00:00:00 Vietnamese Identity

00:02:00 Communication gaps for public health updates in Vietnamese community

00:05:47 Door-to-door canvassing, nutrition programs

00:09:48 Building relationships with parents during COVID, COVID’s influence in career

00:13:34 Staying vigilant during the COVID-19 pandemic