Leader of N.C. Hmong Association will step down

Yang to host radio show, publish newspapers

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

Tong Yang, who has led the United Hmong Association of N.C. for eight years, is stepping down from his post as executive director to host a local radio program and publish a bilingual Hmong newspaper.

Yang, 38, has acted as a liaison between the Hmong community in Western North Carolina and government and law enforcement and has helped foster cultural understanding of the Hmong, who fled Laos following the Vietnam War. About 15,000 Hmong settled in North Carolina since the late 1970s.

In the three decades since, they have been trying to make North Carolina their home without losing their Southeast Asian identity. In 2006, Yang and the association released a report identifying the social and cultural needs of their community, focusing on education, health care and relationships with law enforcement and other government agencies.

In addition to hosting "Hmong Talk" on WCXN 1170 AM in Hickory and publishing Hmong Journal, Yang will work as a consultant with Cultural Insights, a competency training firm in Winston-Salem.

Yang came to the United States in 1988, and in 1998 received a master's in business administration from Wayne State University in Detroit. His last day was Friday.

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