ASAP Staff Spotlight: Ngan

We are so excited to spotlight Ngan Tran, ASAP’s Software Engineer! Ngan joined the ASAP team in 2021 as our first full-time software engineer. Born in a refugee camp in Singapore to Vietnamese parents, and raised in Missouri, Ngan has been building technology that serves asylum seekers and strengthens the movement for a more welcoming United States.

“I grew up watching my family and the people closest to me navigate through a convoluted, opaque system where isolation, lack of access to information, and numerous barriers that come with displacement induced feelings of fear and confusion,” Ngan says. “It feels very much like a full circle; my experiences as an immigrant and my desire to help alleviate these feelings led me to this point in my career, and for that I am very grateful.”

After years of studying and working in life sciences — receiving a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and a master’s in Biomedical Sciences — Ngan decided to change paths. Itching to create tools to make the world a better place, she returned to school for a B.S. in Computer Science. Now, Ngan creates tech systems that allow asylum seekers to connect with each other no matter where they live, help ASAP’s legal experts provide members with high-quality and accessible information, and build the people power necessary to make change to the asylum system.

“I feel so fortunate to be able to be a part of the team at ASAP, to be working towards a mission that I am passionate about. I am continuously motivated and inspired by the resilience and bravery of the community we serve. What a dream it is – to be able to put the tremendous power tech has for making a social impact to work, by harnessing it to help support asylum seekers navigate through their arduous journeys.”

Ngan creates digital tools to help build the collective power of asylum seekers. In addition to being a brilliant programmer, she is a talented photographer and general maker-of-things, always keeping the ASAP team posted on her latest nature photos and at-home inventions. We are so lucky to work with her!

To learn more about Ngan and the rest of the ASAP team, please visit our staff page.