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ThienVinh Nguyen

ThienVinh (pronounced tin-vin) joined Valley Vision in 2026, as Director of the Clean Air & Climate impact area. ThienVinh is inspired to advance Valley Vision’s mission to improve the quality of life for all in the region by finding collective solutions to equity, economic, and environmental challenges. Growing up as an immigrant in South Sacramento shaped her dedication to furthering social and environmental justice and expanding access to clean energy and healthy environments for underserved communities. She also brings personal experience helping low-income households access electrification and clean energy incentives to reduce costs, improve well-being, and support climate resiliency.

Professional Experience

Over the past 15+ years, ThienVinh has led programs, managed grant portfolios, and built partnerships supporting social innovation, environmental stewardship, and community-driven change locally and globally. Prior to Valley Vision, ThienVinh worked for US Agency for International Development (USAID), Casey Trees, and Ashoka Changemakers. 

In these roles, she led large, multi-year social and environmental initiatives from design through implementation and convened diverse stakeholders across nonprofit, public, philanthropic, and private sectors. Her work includes mentoring and funding social entrepreneurs with systems-changing ideas, advancing land conservation and urban tree canopy to improve air quality, and conducting participatory research on inclusive and sustainable development. As a volunteer community organizer in Washington, D.C., ThienVinh is proud to have co-founded the Friends of Deanwood Library, which successfully advocated for $24 million to build a new public library as part of a transit-oriented development in an underserved neighborhood. 

Having lived on four continents and traveled to more than 30 countries, ThienVinh brings a global perspective to local challenges while remaining grounded in creating meaningful impact in the Capital Region – a special place that she is proud to call home. 

Education

  • B.A. – University of California, Los Angeles 
  • M.A. – Columbia University 
  • Ph.D., Geography – University College London

Interests

In her spare time, ThienVinh enjoys walking to the farmers market, cooking feasts for family and friends, and bicycling along river trails. 

ThienVinh’s Top 5 Strengths

  1. Positivity: You have contagious enthusiasm. You are naturally upbeat and can energize others.
  2. Strategic: You quickly spot patterns and issues that others miss. You generate alternative paths forward and choose the most effective one. 
  3. Ideation: You are fascinated by ideas. You see connections that others don’t and can view the world from different perspectives. 
  4. Developer: You recognize and cultivate the potential in others. You spot the signs of each small improvement and love when you see someone make progress.
  5. Input: You have a need to collect and archive. You may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts or even relationships.

CliftonStrengths is a talent assessment tool developed by Gallup to help individuals maximize their unique talents. At Valley Vision, all staff have the opportunity to take this assessment to help better understand their natural strengths and increase our team’s ability for radical collaboration.