As a first-generation Vietnamese-Australian, I've lived my life at an intersection of cultures. Today, I've built my career at the intersection of two worlds: technology and policy.

My mission is to be a "Tech Diplomat" for Australia, focused on bridging our nation with Vietnam, ASEAN, and the greater Indo-Pacific region. This work involves connecting our world-class innovation sector with our strategic policy goals.

This focus isn't new. It was first ignited when I was named a New Colombo Plan (NCP) Scholar by the Australian Government. That experience was a profound, on-the-ground immersion through an exchange in Manchester, an internship in Jakarta, and specialized study tours in Hong Kong and Shanghai. I was so passionate about this that I launched the NCP's first-ever podcast series, sharing the stories of cross-cultural engagement.

A "Tech Diplomat" must be a translator, able to speak to any room. I honed this skill as President of the USyd Toastmasters Society, leading teams and learning to communicate complex ideas.

I then took this blend of skills into the professional world. I managed the 'China Digital Economy Academy' project at Asialink Business and worked at the heart of public sector tech transformation at Salesforce.

Today, I execute this mission at Amazon Web Services (AWS). I'm on the frontline, managing pivotal government agreements, advising on cloud strategy for a significant public sector portfolio, and translating complex tech for C-level executives.

My selection for the Asian Australian Voices program brought this all together, leading to a delegation to Canberra where I attended a Parliamentary hearing on 'Building Asia capability', engaged in conversations around regional strategy and heard from Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

My journey from Shanghai to Parliament House has solidified one core insight: technology provides the tools, but policy moves at the speed of human relationships. My work is dedicated to building those human bridges.