Liana Adrong recently received the 2023 Outstanding Americans by Choice award from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for her work. One of nine children who came to the U.S. from Vietnam, she is passionate about her Montagnard-Ede heritage.
During the awards, Adrong said, “I decided to take a job where I could make an impact, continue to learn, grow, and be able to help the elders in my community; elders like my mom and where I could help young people who wanted to pursue higher education but do not know where to start yet. I chose the Montagnard Dega Association, also known as the MDA office in our community. I am now the Executive Director of MDA where I work tirelessly to collaborate with other communities and organizations to advance the cultural visibility, the social well-being, the health and the empowerment of our refugee communities. With my connections and my knowledge, I didn’t just stop there. I continued to learn, share resources, and mentor the next generation.”