Hmong Committee of 100

02/02/2026

https://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/stories/grant-announcement/minnesota-companies-mobilize-3-5-million-for-immediate-small-business-support/

The Economic Response Fund will activate an initial $3.5 million through grants to established community organizations with deep experience in small business support.

02/02/2026

02/02/2026

11/30/2025

11/25/2025

Col. Yee Hang: Sacrifice, Service & the Next 50 Years of Hmong Leadership

In this powerful and heartfelt speech, Colonel (Ret.) Yee Hang reflects on his family’s legacy, his 27-year U.S. Army career, and the future of Hmong leadership in military service and beyond.

Born from a lineage of courage—his father having served in the Special Guerrilla Units in Laos—Col. Hang speaks about the hope that carried his family to America in 1976 and the sacrifices that shaped his journey from West Point to deployments in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait.

He delivers a clear message for the next 50 years:

“Sacrifice + Opportunity = Possibility.”

More Hmong Americans serving and leading in the U.S. military

Recognition and honor for SGU veterans who served in the shadows

Building strong institutions, scholarships, and leadership pipelines

Uplifting both Hmong sons and daughters with purpose and urgency

Ensuring each generation stands taller than the last

Col. Hang’s vision is one of intention, service, and identity:
Honor the past. Invest in our people. Lead with purpose.
If we do this, the next 50 years will be the proudest chapters in the Hmong American story.

11/23/2025

Mayor-elect Kaohly Her: A Hmong Daughter’s Promise to Carry the Next 50 Years Forward

In this moving and deeply personal speech, Mayor-elect Kaohly Her, the first Hmong American and the first woman to become Mayor of St. Paul, reflects on heritage, leadership, and the powerful legacy of Hmong women whose strength carried generations forward.

She honors the courage of her refugee parents, the sacrifices of grandmothers and mothers who held families together during war, and the often-unseen labor of Hmong women who raised children, built homes, and sustained community. Kaohly reminds us that behind every achievement—her own included—stands a lineage of women who carried burdens, dreams, and entire generations on their backs.

Mayor-elect Her shares why she stepped into the mayoral race: because her community called on her in a moment of struggle. Small businesses were hurting, families feared for their safety, and housing was becoming out of reach. As a mother, a woman, and a Hmong daughter, she felt the responsibility to “strap on the baby carrier”— Dlaim Nyas, the symbol she intentionally incorporated into her campaign design—and carry her community forward just as her elders carried her.

Her message is clear and powerful:
Leadership is not about titles—it is about love, responsibility, and lifting one another.
In the next 50 years, we must remember never to leave anyone behind.

Kaohly stands not only as a historic first, but as a daughter of her people, ready to carry the hopes, sorrows, and dreams of St. Paul into a more just and caring future.

🎤 Delivered at the Hmong American 50 Years of Progress Celebration
📍 St. Paul, Minnesota

11/23/2025

Natalie Kia Mua Yang: Rising Strong — The Next 50 Years of Hmong Women in Business & Leadership

In this deeply moving and empowering speech, Natalie Kia Mua Yang, daughter of Ngo Va Mua and granddaughter of Ngai Kong Tzu Co Mua, shares a powerful testimony of perseverance, identity, and the unbreakable spirit of Hmong women in business.

Natalie reflects on her family’s history—her grandfather’s work with the CIA and USAID, the loss of her mother in the refugee camp, and the challenges she faced growing up as a Hmong girl in a culture that often overlooked the potential of its daughters.
Through hardship, she found strength. Through adversity, she found purpose.

From humble beginnings to opening her first business 25 years ago—and later becoming a successful Chick-fil-A operator for 16 years—Natalie speaks honestly about the sacrifices required to build a business: long hours, sleepless nights, and time away from family and community. Yet, she also celebrates the countless Hmong entrepreneurs and leaders who share the same journey.

She delivers a powerful vision for the future:
✨ A rising generation of Hmong-owned companies
✨ Leaders mentoring youth and shaping major decisions
✨ A community choosing excellence, not just success
✨ A future built on lifting others and creating lasting impact

Natalie reminds us that the next 50 years are not just about achievement—they are about significance, legacy, and unity.

Her message is clear:
We rise together. We dream together. We build together.
Because we are Hmong—strong, faithful, unstoppable—and the best is yet to come.

Delivered at the Hmong American 50 Years of Progress Celebration - St. Paul, Minnesota