EMAIL“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year—it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get into good trouble—necessary trouble.” — John Lewis
Born in a Thailand refugee camp, Pakou was 15 days old when her family immigrated to the US as political refugees. Despite experiencing discrimination, or perhaps because of it, she developed a fierce passion for helping others and has a strong connection to rural places, farming, and food justice.
As the Foundation’s Program VP, she leads our funding approach, guides our program staff, and collaborates with our grantees, staff, and board to support work toward long overdue change led by and for the communities we serve: Native Americans, communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and people in rural areas.
Pakou’s experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders—community members, philanthropic partners, nonprofits, government agencies, and more—gives her a deep understanding of the grantmaking process and helps her see grantmaking from various angles and perspectives.
She’s a founding member and past executive director of the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), where she emerged as a thought leader on issues of land access, food justice, equity in the food and farming movement, and the rise of cooperatives as a community wealth-building model.
Most recently, she was as a consultant to Equitable Food-Oriented Development (EFOD) and Wallace Center at Winrock International and was a fund manager for Powering a New Economy Fund. Her life has a through line of fighting for democracy. She even founded several national organizations focused on empowering and training people to run for public office.
Pakou is energized by learning. She earned two political science degrees: a bachelor’s from Yale University and a master’s from the University of Minnesota.
When not in her office, you’ll likely find Pakou on her family’s farm, tending to their orchard of 1,000 fruit trees and sharing a family meal over an open fire.