Vu H. Pham, Ph.D. Biography
VU H. PHAM, Ph.D.
Chair of Elevate
As the Chair of Elevate, Vu H. Pham, Ph.D. works with dozens of organizations from the Fortune 500 to government and non-profit agencies. Elevate is a partnership with the Center for Executive Development at the University of California, San Diego’s Rady School of Management, as well as Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside’s Career Centers. The Elevate Program boosts people power and organizational performance and strategic effectiveness through interactive learning and data-driven research.
Dr. Pham and his work have been featured on national and international multimedia venues, such as CNN, MSNBC, the Associated Press, Voice of America, The Los Angeles Times, KSCI International Television, Diversity, Inc., Strategic Innovators, Asian Week and Radio Free Asia. He has given keynote speeches on numerous occasions and presented at many conferences internationally, and has written for both academic and mainstream publications. Beyond his professional work, Dr. Pham has participated in generating over a million dollars for non-profit groups and donates many hours to them.
Previously, he held Research Fellow positions through the University of California Office of the President, UCLA and the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. Having completed his doctoral degree from Cornell University, Dr. Pham’s specialties include the areas of culture, organizational development and leadership. He has a book entitled, Impressive First Impressions: The Most Important 30 Seconds (And 30 Years) of Your Career, as well as The ERG Economy: Optimize Your Employee Resource Groups.
Dr. Pham’s partner industries include: Aerospace and Defense, Utilities, Banking, Technology, Accounting and Finance, Entertainment, Healthcare, Education and Retail.
His other honors and roles include being selected as the head of a Smithsonian cultural project and museum exhibit, a Role Model for KSCI International Television’s “Our Role Models” series, “Entrepreneur of the Year” in California’s 49th Assembly District, as well as being an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) award recipient, a Chancellor’s Scholar at UC Irvine and an Honoree at UCLA. He also served as a Senior Advisory Board Member for the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) and has served on the Los Angeles Asian Heritage Month Committee.