Danita Huynh Oral History Interview

Beginning this interview, Huynh discusses her personal life, including: her parents, where she has lived, and how she began at the Asian Family Center. She follows this by discussing the daily duties associated with her position at AFC. She also explains other programs that AFC offers, how people find out about said services, and the constant needs that are present in the Asian Pacific Islander community. The interview then changes to explain formal partnerships and funding. Shifting topics again, Huynh highlights the community itself when discussing home visits, language issues, and population shifts. She talks about how she became involved with the AFC and her background of early education. Her model of a strength-based approach when dealing with AFC's mission is discussed next, along with how needs are assessed in the community, what the Center lacks, and what skillset is needed for this line of work. On a more personal level, Huynh describes some personal achievements and mentors she has had. In concluding, she notes upon some logistics of the AFC, such as training and staff.

Danita Huynh was born in Newport, Oregon, to a father who was born in Canada and a mother who was born in Arkansas. Huynh identifies herself as Caucasian with a background of Norwegian. Living in Lincoln City, Southern Oregon, and various other places throughout Oregon, she moved to Georgia for about five years. However, she then returned to Oregon and has been living in Portland for 21 years. Huynh has been affiliated with the Asian Family Center for 17 years; starting out as a parent educator doing direct-service work with the Parent-Child Development Program in 1997, she was then promoted to the lead parent educator position, then to coordinator, then to her current position as manager of AFC's Children Programing. On a daily basis, her job consists of supporting and supervising 25 home-visitors, collaborating with other programs, presenting to other community agencies, and monitoring budgets, goals, and outcomes. Huynh has a background in early education and Asian communities.