Awards and Accolades
● Received the Ronald E. McNair Fellowshipthrough the University of Minnesota, 1994.
● Received the ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest) Summer Research Fellowship, to conduct and present a research on topic of “Political Culture and Activism in Asian American Communities, 1995.
● Featured in Hmong Means Free, a rap video-documentary about activism artistry, International Cable Channel, Denver, CO, 1996.
● Received the Echoing Green Public Service Fellowship, New York, 1996-1998.
● Starred in Portraits from the Cloth, the first television movie about a Hmong family’s journey from war; Multi-Colored Film & Arts, St. Paul, MN, 1997.
● Featured in St. Paul Pioneer’s Press’s “98 Minnesotans to look for in ’98”, St. Paul, 1998.
● Featured in Protect Yourself: AIDS Awareness Video Project; Lao Family Community of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 1999.
● Featured in Yellow Light: The Flowering of Asian American Arts, an anthology by Amy Ling, Temple University Press, 1999.
● Received the National Community Star: Arts and Music Award given by the California Asian Americans for Community Involvement; San Jose, CA, 2000.
● Received the distinguished “National Alumni of the Year Award” from the United Neighborhood Centers of America, Washington, DC, 2002.
● Featured in Mission Possible-Volume 7, A Motivational Book Series from Insight Publishing, 2003.
● Featured in Asian Americans Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, by Helen Zia, MacMillan Publishing, 2004.
● Recipient of the Pride of St. Paul's Spurgeon Award, an award presented annually to men and women who are outstanding role models for youth because they have made significant strides in their careers and have rendered exceptional community service, either personally or through their company/organization affiliations, St. Paul, 2004.
● Received the Ordway Center’s Education Excellence Award, 2014
● Received Governor Mark Dayton’s Martin Luther King Social Justice Award, 2014
● Received Hmong National Development’s IMPACT Award, 2015
● Founded Hmong MN Day at the Minnesota State Fair, 2015-2018
● Minnesota’s Mahatma Gandhi Non-violent Award, 2016
● Recipient of Hnub Tshiab’s Hmong Women Champion Award (first male to ever receive this honor), 2017
● Bush Leadership Fellow, 2019