Biography

Theresa Tran Kouo is currently an independent consultant based out of St. Louis, MO, assisting non-profits with strategic planning, program development, training and facilitation, fund development, and other projects that build capacity of grassroots, people of color-led organizations. Before moving to St. Louis, Theresa served as the first executive director of APIAVote-MI, a non-partisan organization that serves the Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) community through civic participation, advocacy and education. Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Theresa is the daughter of Vietnamese American refugees who came to the U.S. following the Vietnam War, an important lens through which she approaches her work as part of the APIA community. Theresa received her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor where she studied community organization with children, youth and families. She earned a bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Asian/Pacific Islander American studies, also from the University of Michigan. From 2010-2014, Theresa worked as the youth programs manager at the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, a Detroit-based nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to creating opportunity for all. Additionally, Theresa served in leadership roles on several ad-hoc committees of the organization to develop program, evaluation, development and story-based communications strategies. Theresa has also consulted with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan advising the youth advisory committee, and Esteemed Human Development International, facilitating corporate cultural competency trainings. Theresa was named in 2014 a Fellow of the inaugural class of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network, a national fellowship network targeting individuals who can be transformative social change agents in their communities so that vulnerable children and their families can achieve optimal health and well-being, academic achievement and financial security. Embedded in this effort are the foundation’s two approaches to all its work: community and civic engagement and racial equity and healing. In 2015, Theresa was the first Asian American to be honored by New Detroit, Inc. as the "Young Leader in Action" of the year for her work in race relations in Metro Detroit. Most recently, Theresa was named a member of Oakland County's Class of 2016 Elite 40 Under 40 by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.