About Tru

Tru Thao serves on the Board of Directors for Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together.

​

Tru joined the board of Hnub Tshiab because she shares the organization's vision and mission and admires its commitment to fostering leadership and advancing gender equity within the Hmong community.

 

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. Tru currently serves as a social worker with Ramsey County's Children and Families Services Division.

 

Tru began her career in the nonprofit sector, working for Lao Family and the Hmong Women's Association of Hmong and Lao (WAHL). In 1998, she became the first Program Coordinator for Hmong Women's Peace, a sexual assault program led by WAHL. During her time with the program, she helped raise awareness of sexual violence within the Hmong community while bridging cultural differences and providing education for professionals working with Hmong victims and survivors of sexual abuse.

 

Tru has also contributed to published work on issues affecting Hmong women and girls. She co-authored a chapter in Transforming a Rape Culture and co-published the article, Sexual Exploitation of Very Young Hmong Girls, in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Both works focused on the issue of sexual violence and its impact on Hmong women and girls.