Xuan-Giang arrived in the United States in 1980 after escaping Vietnam’s communist regime with her mother. Her father joined them 8 years later, and her sibling arrived shortly after that. She grew up in Salem, Oregon, before attending Oregon State University and earning her bachelor’s degree in biology. Xuan-Giang is now surrounded by multi-generational family members in the area, and lives with her husband, two sons, and canine hiking buddy, Milo.
Xuan-Giang enjoyed a successful career in the legal industry working on behalf of multi-billion dollar corporations on issues central to their futures. Xuan-Giang learned in that position that her definition of success meant continuing to learn, grow, and strive to do better. As such, Xuan- Giang transitioned away from that field to pursue a new challenge, one where she would continue to achieve personal growth. She began to study the art of mediating family disputes as a volunteer at Community Mediation Services, and soon discovered she enjoyed connecting with family systems. Xuan-Giang now volunteers as a group facilitator to help families through loss at the Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families. She is grateful to have been in positions that have allowed for both professional and personal growth and wanted to find a way to give back to her community. Lewis & Clark’s Marriage, Couples and Family Therapy program combined her interest in the healing power of solution-focused therapy with her natural inclination towards systems-level thinking. Xuan-Giang’s early familial separation and later reintegration, large Vietnamese family, and her personal life as a marital partner and parent give her a unique set of experiences that inform her counseling work. After graduation, Xuan-Giang intends to continue her professional and personal journey through private practice as a marriage, couples and family therapist.