Executive Team

Long Vu,  JD  LCSW

Chief Executive Officer

Committed to a life-long passion of eliminating the causes of injustices, Long Vu has worked in the field of social work for more than 30 years, holding various positions both in the government and nonprofit sector.  He graduated from San Jose State University with a BA in Psychology and a MSW in Social Work.  After working for Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services for 10 years, he began studying law and received a Juris Doctor from Lincoln Law School of San Jose.  He began a private law practice handling personal injury and bankruptcy cases.  Finding his career choice and passion misaligned, Long returned to the field of social work in 2012 and started working for Mekong Community Center as a case manager. Subsequently, he obtained licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).  He was later promoted to various leadership positions and eventually became the Executive Director/CEO in 2018.  In his spare time, Long enjoys listening to music and playing keyboards in local bands performing at weddings and charity events. 

Lana Nguyen, MPH

Chief Financial Officer

Lana Nguyen came to the US as a foreign exchange student from Vietnam during the peak of the war. After the war ended, Lana became a refugee, and was disconnected with her family for 20 years since she left home for school. She continued her college education, received a BS in Business Administration at Cal State East Bay, and MPH at San Francisco State University. Prior to joining Mekong Community Center in 2015, Lana worked in private corporations as a financial administrator, and Vice President of Finance for over 25 years. While working in private industry, Lana served as member of the advisory board for Non-profit, and Non-Government Organizations concerning health, education, and literacy for the Vietnamese refugees, particularly for the children affected war and exploitation. In her spare time, Lana enjoys gardening, nature, walking and hiking. 

Minh Ta, LCSW

Mekong Founder & Board President

Minh Ta is a man of vision, commitment and perseverance. It is not difficult to describe Minh. He is straight forward, honest and consistent. What you see is what you get. A man who has passed the test of time and challenges to remain always true to himself and to other people around him, including remaining forever young and fit! Minh established Mekong, a mental health center for Vietnamese in 1989. If you were among the Vietnamese mental health professionals during the 1990s, you would appreciate how important and precious it was to have a treatment center with bilingual and bicultural staffs. At that time, mental illness to Vietnamese was an unfortunate stigma and a bad karma that Vietnamese people would rather die to avoid than to accept and seek treatment for. Most Vietnamese think mental illness is something the others have, who belongs to a bad family with bad deeds from past lives. It is a shame not only for yourselves but also for your family. The barriers of not seeking treatment, not complying with treatment, and the language and culture differences were almost insurmountable if not for the bilingual mental health professionals and agencies like Mekong. Minh was right there at the right place, at the right time with his courageous act to establish Mekong, where Vietnamese patients and families felt at home, like they never left Vietnam. Being the founder of Mekong, Minh did not limit his activities to it, like he was not busy enough. He worked tirelessly everywhere, at every clinical setting; never felt he saved enough lives. He was involved in Dr. Phuong Thuy Le’s radio talk show in Vietnamese language to bring awareness of mental health issues to Vietnamese families. Minh has been very lucky is his personal and married life. His wife of over 40 years has been always supportive and understanding. They successfully raised 5 children and now enjoy the grandchildren. He did not stop at his own marriage, Minh went on being a facilitator of his class of “Improvement of Marriage” to help his peer couples to improve theirs, as one of his Church activities as a Catholic man. Minh is now semi-retired, but his heart and mind are still with his clients, friends, and colleagues in the mental health profession. He has built the foundation; his only wish is for the younger Vietnamese Mental Health professionals to build the house. In his spare time, Minh enjoys going fishing and spending time with his family.