LOCAL NEWS

Hmong National Development Conference opens in Milwaukee with 1,000 in attendance

Bill Glauber
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Hli Xyooj (left), co-chair of 18th Hmong National Development Conference, and Bao Vang, president and chief executive of Hmong National Development, are in Milwaukee to run the conference, which is to be attended by 1,000 people.

More than 1,000 people from at least 20 states are expected in Milwaukee for the 18th Hmong National Development Conference.

The three-day gathering, which began Friday at the Hyatt Regency, will focus on key issues facing the Hmong community. Several prominent Hmong leaders and elected officials will be highlighted, including Kashoua "Kristy" Yang, who won a judicial race for Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Yang will participate in Saturday's panel on politics, power and influence. The panel's keynote speaker is Elk Grove, Calif., Mayor Steve Ly, the first mayor of Hmong descent in the nation.

The biannual event was last held in Wisconsin in 2009.

"We are a policy organization," said Bao Vang, president and chief executive of Hmong National Development. "We were founded over 20 years ago. Our founding fathers had a vision of creating a national gathering and also continuing to champion and advocate for issues affecting our community."

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From its roots working on refugee resettlement, assimilation and employment, the group has moved on to leadership development, economic development, policy advocacy and data research.

Vang, who was born in Laos, and conference co-chair Hli Xyooj, who was born in Thailand, said they are part of the 1.5 Hmong generation in America.

"We were born overseas but we were educated and grew up here in America," Vang said. "My kids' generation is a 2.0 generation."

Vang said the conference plans to discuss issues affecting the Hmong community in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin, states with the largest Hmong population. The conference comes a little more than year after a man targeted three of his neighbors, including two members of the Hmong community, in a shooting rampage at a south side Milwaukee apartment.

"There is a lot of violence in the country happening to the community," Xyooj said.

But for the most part, the event will celebrate the Hmong community and focus on the theme: "Power of the Past: Force of the Future."