WHO WE ARE

Our Team

Executive Director and Founder

Susan Hammond, the daughter of a US Vietnam Veteran, became interested in post-war Southeast Asia after traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia in 1991. In 1996, after earning her MA in International Education from NYU, Susan returned to Vietnam to study Vietnamese. She became involved in fostering mutual understanding between the people of the US and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and addressing the long-term impacts of war while working as the Deputy Director of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development (FRD) from 1996 – 2007. During this time she lived in New York, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos coordinating programs for FRD.  In 2007, Susan returned to her home state of Vermont and founded the War Legacies Project. She also stays involved with local issues in her home town serving as an elected member of the Town of Rockingham Select Board.

Vietnam Program Coordinator

Trang Thu is our over-qualified and over-worked volunteer  program coordinator. She communicates with our partner organizations, helps conduct interviews of our beneficiaries, oversees the implementation of our programs, and ensures that the funding we receive from our donors is stretched as far as possible to reach those in most need.

Lao Program Coordinator

Niphapone Sengthong is another one of  WLP's over-qualified and over-worked volunteers. She communicates with our program partners and coordinates the logistics of sending children with disabilities in Laos to receive the services they need in Laos or Vietnam.

Board President

Jacquelyn Chagnon is an international development  specialist with more than 45 years experience working on Southeast Asia issues in the fields of peace, conflict, post-war reconstruction and reconciliation, participatory development, human rights and U.S.-Asia foreign policy. In addition to serving on the board she volunteers as a senior advisor for our Lao program.  During the American war in SE Asia Jacqui worked for the International Voluntary Service in Saigon and traveled from time to time to Laos. When she was back in the US she became involved in the anti-war movement educating people about the impacts of the war in SE Asia.

Board Member

Ann Helm is recently retired from CUNY- Staten Island as the Director of the Center of International Services.  She received her BA in Anthropology and Japanese Studies from the University of Washington and an MA in International/Comparative Education from Teacher’s College of Columbia University. Anne has worked in numerous countries around the world including Vietnam to develop international exchange programs and English as a Second Language schools.

Board Member

Thi-Bay Miradoli first became involved with WLP while living in Vietnam and teaching at Cần Thơ University as a Ford Foundation Fellow. She was a contributing editor at Tuoi Tre News, occasionally covering Agent Orange-related stories. She researched Vietnam’s medical and engineering fields for Doctors without Borders before becoming the Manager of Resource Development and Communications for Habitat for Humanity Vietnam.  In 2014 she relocated to New Jersey to be closer to her family. She has been leading cultural programs to Cuba and freelancing as a writer/editor. Thi Bay has a Masters in International Affairs with a concentration in International Law from Columbia University

Board Member

Ivan Small is a sociocultural anthropologist and associate professor at Central Connecticut State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology and Southeast Asian studies from Cornell University, a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in History from Boston College. Ivan has worked and consulted for nonprofits, foundations, and think tanks including the Smithsonian, Ford Foundation, and World Policy Institute.

Board Member

Andrew Wells-Dang is an international specialist on civil society, networks and governance. He has lived and worked the greater part of the past two decades in Vietnam. He currently works as Senior Technical Advisor at Oxfam-GB in Vietnam. Andrew received his PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK). He is the auther of the book Civil Society Networks In China and Vietnam.  Andrew lives with his wife Giang and their two children in beautiful Hoi An, Vietnam.