Houston Area Women’s Center
The Houston Area Women’s Center serves thousands of women, children and families each year escaping domestic violence, sexual assault, or sex trafficking, helping survivors transform their lives, free from violence.
Chau Nguyen is the Chief Public Strategies Officer for the Houston Area Women’s Center. She is tasked with managing and expanding key partnerships, while positioning HAWC as thought leaders in order to drive broad awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault, with a goal of reducing interpersonal violence and changing cultural norms about how survivors are understood. Prior to her leadership in the non-profit space, Chau spent 15 years as a television news journalist and last served as an anchor and reporter with KHOU-TV. She is the first Vietnamese American journalist to receive an Emmy Award for her documentary series covering a medical mission in Vietnam, and the Houston Press has named her Reporter of the Year. Chau came to America, and to Houston, when she was two years old, escaping from Vietnam, at the end of the Vietnam War, with her parents and three siblings. As a refugee immigrant whose family settled in Houston and still calls Houston home, she is passionate about staying connected and serving her community.
Chau is an American Leadership Forum Class 47 Fellow, was recently appointed by the city to serve on the Women’s Commission, and is a regular panelist on the popular FOX 26 show, “What’s Your Point?” where she advocates for women, children and families on political and social justice issues.
She currently sits on the Board of The University of Houston Friends of Women’s Studies, and she is on the Advisory Board of Houston Achievement Place. Chau is a Master Social Worker and holds a Master of Arts in Social Work from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of St. Thomas. She is frequently asked to emcee events, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Inauguration in 2016. Chau is the proud mother of two young girls, Ryan and Myles, a Shorkie (a Yorkie/Shih-tzu mix) named Peanut, and she is an active member of Unity of Houston.
Aly Kramer Jacobs serves as the Director of Counseling and Advocacy at the Houston Area Womens Center and specializes in providing trauma-informed care to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. She holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of Houston and is currently enrolled in the Doctoral program at the Graduate School of Social Work. With over 15 years of experience in the field of trauma, Aly has presented at national and regional conferences, testified in the Texas Senate, and served as expert witness in court.