Our Board of Directors
Hoai Ta
Co-Chair
Hoai currently serves as Co-Chair of International Children Assistance Network (ICAN). He is instrumental in setting up ICAN’s technology infrastructure and has been keen on applying business management practices to ensure operational efficiency in the non-profit setting. Hoai has 15 years of broad-based experience in technology planning, management, systems development, global operations and support organizations. He has been working as Director of Operations for CCIntegration in Fremont, and was Senior Director of Information Technology for Broadvision in Redwood City. Hoai received his Bachelor of Science in Finance, Economics and Banking from San Jose State University.
Born in Xuan Loc, Vietnam and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Quan has always appreciated diversity of place and perspective. At the age of 24, he dedicated four months to traveling internationally, seeking encounters with new cultures and experiences that would put him outside his comfort zone. Grateful for his own opportunities, he is in constant search of how he can create opportunities for others, with a focus on access to high-quality healthcare. His current imperatives include empowering employees to fulfill their potential and find joy in their work, as well as engendering the mindset of continuous improvement. Quan was excited to join ICAN to reconnect with his cultural roots. He received his Master in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and a Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Quan T. Pham, M.H.S.A
Board Member
Helen Lam, M.S
Secretary
Helen graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and from San Francisco State with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Science. She takes great pride in her day job as Senior Research Associate at Alector in South San Francisco, working diligently to contribute to the company’s efforts in cancer and neurodegeneration immunotherapies. After a trip to visit her parents’ hometowns in Vietnam, she decided she should get involved in ensuring that children have the opportunity to continue their education regardless of their family’s financial ability and started volunteering with ICAN in August 2017. Despite her original interest being in providing a helping hand to underprivileged students in Vietnam, Helen came to learn much about ICAN’s US-based initiatives to strengthen Vietnamese-American families in our local community, many of whom struggle to find the right resources and now works with the team to raise grant money and awareness for these programs. In March 2018, Helen became the newest member of ICAN’s Board of Directors.
Dai has been a senior management level executive for over 40 years, serving as CFO as well as CEO. He has expertise in the Financial Services and Healthcare industries. During the past 20 years, Dai has been heavily involved in the areas of leadership training as well as academic teaching in addition to holding his positions as senior executive. In academics, he lectured in both undergraduate and graduate business courses. He frequently holds financial services seminars and training sessions to train the trainers. Dai was attracted to ICAN for its humanitarian programs in the US and other countries. His interests are in the medical and educational efforts to help the children and elderlies in need. Dai looks forward to contributing his time and resources toward ICAN’s missions and vision. In joining ICAN, Dai aims to help build a stronger organization to sustainably further its mission here and abroad.
Dai Pham
Treasurer, Board of Directors/Finance Director
Ivy Nga Vuong
Board Member, Fundraising
Ivy is a co-founder of ICAN and currently serves as the Fundraising Board Member. She is the Executive Producer of ICAN’s popular fundraising concerts and has been active in building relationships with other organizations in the community. Ivy also travels to Vietnam to meet with children and families to understand their needs first-hand. She loves art, poetry, and philanthropy. Prior to co-founding ICAN, she co-founded Microstar Engineering Design firm. She received training from Chapman University and currently lives in San Jose, California.
MyLinh has been an ardent advocate for the community, especially for at-risk women and children.
During her short tenure in Vietnam (1995-1998), she worked with an Australian consulting firm to train Vietnamese professionals in sales, marketing and public speaking. MyLinh recently served as President of The Gifted in Fremont, a parent advocacy group to develop the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program in the Fremont Unified School District. She grew the team from 10 to 120 volunteers to provide leadership programs to gifted students and help develop them to be compassionate leaders.
She received her BA in Math and Economics from Reed College and University of Chicago Graduate School of Business-Scholar. MyLinh loves to travel with friends. She currently lives in Fremont with her husband and two daughters.
My-Linh Ha-Do
Operations Director, Board of Directors
Helen Padolina
Co-Chair
Helen comes to ICAN with an extensive background in operations, having served as Chief of Staff at various tech startups. She is also a wordsmith by trade and most recently led communications and culture at a public biotech company. She previously spent five years on the foundation side of nonprofit work, where she was inspired by small organizations making an outsized impact on people in need.
A lifelong volunteer, Helen has rebuilt homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, mentored students as a big sibling, fed food-insecure families, and coached in after-school programs. She joined ICAN's board of directors hoping to use her experience and skills to contribute to the amazing work ICAN does for communities both local and abroad.
Helen was a National Merit and Regents Scholar at UCLA. A Southern California native who loves exploring Bay Area trails, she is also an inveterate reader and competitive volleyball player.
Jane Cady came to ICAN looking to connect with her Vietnamese identity as a parent. A mother of two children (two daughters from Vietnam), she fell in love with ICAN's mission and joined them as their bookkeeper. Eventually she grew to become ICAN's Operations and Development Manager. She oversees the day to day operations as well as fundraising strategies and relationships building at ICAN.
Before ICAN, Jane Cady spent almost a decade in the fashion industry, starting with a career in a couture house in San Francisco and ending with a jewelry company. She transitioned from fashion into accounting and spent a number of years working in corporate accounting.
Jane has a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies emphasizing in Economics from San Francisco State University. She is currently a graduate student at San Francisco State in the Asian American Studies program.
Jane Cady
Board Member, Operations and Development Manager