INTERVIEWS BY NGAY NAY NEWSPAPER IN HOUSTON ON THE FRENCH CULTURE, THE LAW, AND LITERATURE

Pho?ng va^'n bo?i Ba'o Nga`y Nay ve^` nuo'c Pha'p, lua^.t ho.c va` va(n chu*o*ng

NOTE FROM WENDY DUONG (NHU NGUYEN):  In 2010, I lived in France to attend the American Bar Association's international law conference, and to conduct research in comparative private higher education (France-U.S.).  During this period of time, I had the pleasure of spending time with Mrs. Claude Sarraute, the noted French journalist, daughter of the late French lawyer-novelist Natalie Sarraute and widower of the late philosopher Jean Francois Revel.  Ngay Nay contributor Luu Van Dan conducted two interviews of me from Paris. The following is a verbatim report of the first interview. It presents my observations on the law profession and the French culture, in particular my comparative perspective on education in France, in the U.S., and in the Vietnamese Francophone tradition, a product of colonialism.

REPRESENTATIVE SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS AT ASIAN AND VIETNAMESE AMERICAN CONFERENCES No'i chuye^.n cho co^.ng do^`ng go^'c A' va` Vie^.t Nam

THE EARLIER YEARS:

1988: addressing the Vietnamese community in 

Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia

1987-88:  joining Vietnamese telecast panel in San Jose, Calfornia

 1988: addressing Vietnamese community in Chicago, Illinois during the historic Trung Sisters' celebration

MORE RECENTLY: 

2007:  addressing Vietnamese American students at their national conference held in New Orleans on "women in leadership"

2007: joining panel of distinguished Vietnamese women, including CNN anchor woman Betsy Nguyen, at VANG national conference of Vietnamese Americans held in San Francisco

Extending legal expertise to national conference of computer and technology professionals held in Milpitas, California 

and hosted by CISCO

Speaking  to law students and Asian American Professors on negotiating international contracts, at UC-Davis

2009:  speaking to fellow Vietnamese American attorneys on foreign direct investment/international business transactions, and as first Vietnamese American judge to congratulate newly appointed U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, at the annual conference of Vietnamese American Bar Association 

held in Hungtington Beach, California

The 1980's: MEDIA COVERAGE OF KEYNOTE SPEECH IN CHICAGO

Note from Wendy N. Duong:  The first speech I gave to Vietnamese Americans was in Houston, Texas, for the annual conference of The National Association of Vietnamese American Educators (NVAE) in 1982.  I chose the topic of cultural and professional identity crisis for working woman immigrants: "The Vietnamese Woman in America: Between Two Worlds."  But it was not until I traveled to Chicago at the invitation of Le Thi Ngoan, Asia-Pacific Assistant to the mayor, that I received media attention from the mainstream.  Ngoan later accompanied the entourage of President and Mrs. Clinton to visit Vietnam.  I wish I had been part of that historic event, but missed out on such an opportunity --  I had decided to forgo a career in politics or public service, hoping to serve the public interest as a writer instead.

1988 ARTICLE ABOUT THE YOUNG FEMALE LAWYER IN WASHINGTON D.C.

 Note from Wendy N. Duong:  The article above was written by a Vietnamese journalist of the first generation in 1988,  who called me "the young Vietnamese woman of the year 2000."  This was totally unexpected.  It became one of the sources of inspiration for me to apply for the White House Fellowship in 1990.  I withdrew from the competition after being selected regional finalist for the southwestern states, with the intent to reapply later.  I never did.  This is one of my regrets. In my opinion, the White House Fellowship prepares a young professional for public service on his or her own merit, outside of the political process.

RECORD OF REPRESENTATIVE ACTIVITIES: LAW -- HOA.T DO^.NG TIE^U BIE^?U: GIAI DOA.N DA^`U CU?A NGA`NH LUA^.T

ACTIVITIES: STAGE -- SINH HOA.T VA(N NGHE^.

Review in the Washington Post, 1991:  

"Teahouse of the August Moon" 

I was the geisha speaking Japanese 

and dancing with a fan on stage. 

Rehearsing and performing "Night Court 2000" with Texas lawyers:

AMAZON CORPORATION"S 2011 PRESS RELEASE: "POSTCARDS FROM NAM" BY UYEN NICOLE DUONG

AUTHOR RETURNING TO BAY AREA FOR RELEASE OF TRANSLATION "BUU THIE^'P CU?A NAM"

Announcement from San Jose Martin Luther King public library, 2009

Presse Release 2009

COMPARING FEMININE BEAUTY TO WARRIOR CELEBRE: REINTERPRETING A METAPHOR IN CLASSICAL TEXT: MY~ NHA^N VA` DANH TUO'NG

FROM THE EARLY 1990's: HO^` TRUO`NG AN ON THE VIETNAMESE POETRY OF DUONG NHU NGUYEN -- HO^` TRUO`NG AN NO'I VE^` THO TIE^NG VIE^.T CU?A DUONG NHU-NGUYEN