Somerville Resident Named to Mass. Asian American Commission

SOMERVILLE, MA – A Somerville resident who came to the United States in 1975 as a refugee from Vietnam is the newest member of the Massachusetts Asian American Commission.

Loan Thi Dao was sworn in last week; she will serve on the commission for three years, at which point she will be eligible for reappointment.

Dao is a professor of Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts – Boston and holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Mass Communications from the University of Texas, Austin, as well as a masters and doctorate in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Since 2015, Dao has served on the Massachusetts Office of Refugees and Immigrants Governor's Advisory Council.

The Asian American Commission, established in 2006, meets monthly to recognize the contributions of Asian Americans in Massachusetts and identify methods of addressing the needs of Asian Americans across the state.

Photo: New members of the Asian American Commission were sworn in by State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg in her State House Office. The new commissioners, from left are: Anil Saigal, Gilbert Ho, Loan Dao, Janjy Ananth, and Nina Liang.

Photo submitted