Alumni Awards News

Nga Vương-Sandoval is a Vietnamese refugee whose journey and advocacy propelled her into the forefront of local, national, and international human rights on issues and policies impacting forcibly displaced persons and underrepresented groups. She is the Executive Director and Founder of Refugees + Immigrants United and concurrently leads the first and only judicial initiative in the U.S. focused on diversifying the bench, a TEDx presenter, a refugee representative at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland, a Noble Ambassador for Christina Noble Children's Foundation, vice chair of the Lutheran Family Services board of directors.

In recognition of her work, Nga has received the Colorado Attorney General’s Outstanding Community Service Award, ADL Civil Rights Award, and Refugee Congress Excellence Award. She has also advocated to First Lady Jill Biden to increase refugee admissions. Nga successfully lead the effort to recognize Lunar New Year as an observed Colorado state holiday. She has been named among Denver Westword's "Ten People to Watch," was the subject of a public mural by Thomas “Detour” Evans ’08, MBA ’12, and was honored by the Denver Nuggets with the "First Shot" of the game.

Nga is a transformative advocate who inspires change and champions the rights of forcibly displaced and marginalized communities. Nga received a bachelor of arts in political science and master of criminal justice from CU Denver.