Presidential Candidate

Name: David Tran

Pronouns: he/him/his

Date of Birth: 10/15/2000

Affiliated Region: Midwest

Alma Mater: Michigan State University

Biography: David is a servant leader with roots from the Midwest who has continuously given his time and efforts to the VSA space since 2018. David is the recent Internal vice president for UNAVSA and has been involved in numerous regions through roles in CORR, cabinet, or conference! David, who now resides in NorCal, has been passionate about growing the space that gave him the chance to grow when he first started out.

Outside of VSA, David is working in the tech industry in the People world, where he translates the work he’s done in VSA to the workforce.

Internal Vice President Candidates

Name: Jenny Cao

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Date of Birth: 06/18/2002

Affiliated Region: Southern California

Alma Mater: University of California, Santa Barbara

Biography: Born and raised in Torrance, California, Jenny Cao (she/her) is a first-generation alumni of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in English and Asian American Studies, as well as a minor in Educational Studies. Starting her VSA journey in 2020 at her alma mater, she’s found a second home in the organization and hopes to give back through volunteering and community-building.

While proudly hailing from the SoCal region, Jenny currently serves as the UNAVSA-21 Conference Programming Director, as well as a team member for the UNAVSA Alumni Relations Cabinet and NWVSA Camp Solstice Operations Committee! In her free time, Jenny enjoys writing, animanga, watching video essays, a good sweet treat, doom-scrolling, and going to the beach (touching grass).

Name: Kathy Le

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Date of Birth: 05/19/1999

Affiliated Region: Southwest

Alma Mater: University of Colorado Denver

Biography: Kathy Le (she/her) is a CU Denver alum with a B.S. in Biology and an Ethnic Studies minor (’21) and Master of Social Work from MSU Denver (’25). She has been involved in VSA since UNAVSA-VE in 2020, serving in roles such as SWUVSA CoRR, SWUVSA Secretary, UNAVSA Alumni Relations Committee, UNAVSA mentor, and family leader positions. Le is passionate about presenting workshops, hoping to inspire future VSA leaders while advocating for AAPI mental health and pursuing her License in Clinical Social Work (LCSW). She aims to work with likeminded leaders to foster community in the UNAVSA space while growing as a leader herself.

Elections for the UNAVSA Executive Board take place every two years within one month before or after the annual UNAVSA Leadership Conference.  Candidates are elected by a simple majority of the Voting Body.

Learn more about the Executive Board Elections through our Constitution.

For questions or concerns, please reach out to [email protected].

Elections Timeline

  • Executive Board Applications OPEN: March 30th, 2026
    • Applications CLOSE: April 13th, 2026 at 11:50 PM PT
  • Screening Interviews: April 13th – April 20th, 2026
  • Candidate Press Release: Week of April 27th, 2026
  • Candidates Platform Speeches DEADLINE: May 11th, 2026
  • Candidate Public Town Hall: Week of June 1st, 2026
  • Online Q&A Form OPEN: July 6th, 2026
    • Questions will be answered virtually asynchronously as questions are submitted until the form closes July 11th, 2026
  • Executive Board Announced at UNAVSA-21: July 12th, 2026

Elections Process

Application/Screening Phase

Those interested in applying for the UNAVSA Executive Board 2026-2028 term will need to submit an application via the UNAVSA Elections Portal form, to be released on March 30th, 2026. Required qualifications are listed below.

Candidates:

  • Must only apply as a candidate to one (1) Executive Board position
  • Cannot exceed thirty (30) years of age in the year of election
  • Must have served either:
    1. as a former or current member of Cabinet Committees and/or Conference Director for at least one (1) year,
    2. as a director, executive board member, or in a position of similar capacity in a Regional Partner organization or,
    3. as a director, executive board member, or in a position of similar capacity for certified nonprofits as deemed appropriate by the Elections Committee,
  • Must not hold any other executive board or director position in another Regional Partner organizations at the same time should they win the elections unless
    • A candidate is finishing up their term and is outgoing within 3 months of starting the Executive Board term
      • If the time period is longer, candidates must receive approval from the Elections Committee (see Section 3 of the UNAVSA Constitution)

An individual does not qualify as a candidate if:

  • They have violated any of UNAVSA’s policies
  • They are under investigation in a Region or within UNAVSA for infractions
  • If they are currently on probation during the elections period due to quality of performance as a member of Cabinet Committees, Conference Committees, and/or CoRR

For all applicants, a screening interview will need to be conducted with the Elections Committee to evaluate the above qualifications in addition to determining that candidates

  • Have shown consistent and recent engagement within UNAVSA and/or its partnering regions
  • Possess knowledge and insight of UNAVSA’s current processes, policies, and state of affairs AND
  • Have cleared any existing concerns over qualifications for the role
  • Ideally are physically present at this year’s UNAVSA Leadership Conference (but not required)

Once the screening interview has been completed and an applicant has been approved by the Elections Committee, the applicant is officially eligible for candidacy and will move onto the Campaign Phase.

Candidates will have their biographical information and role they are applying for released to the public during the week of April 27th, 2026. From here, candidates may officially begin publicly campaigning, including social media posting and outreach to constituents and/or partnering organizations. Candidate speeches are required to be recorded individually and asynchronously by each candidate and submitted by May 11th, 2026. These speeches will then be compiled and shared publicly via the UNAVSA Elections portal.

A public virtual town hall will be livestreamed during the week of June 1st, 2026 (subject to candidate availabilities) in order to allow the opportunity for the general constituency to ask questions and gather further insight on each candidate and their platforms in a real-time virtual setting.

During the week leading up to UNAVSA-21, starting on July 6th, 2026, an online form for constituents to submit questions for candidates to answer will be released to the public, open until the Saturday of UNAVSA Conference (July 11th, 2026). Questions may be addressed to specific candidates, specific positions, or to all elections candidates. These questions will be populated into publicly available spreadsheets for each candidate. From here, candidates have the ability to add their responses the form closes. These responses will be referenced along with their platform information and qualifications during deliberations.

During the UNAVSA Leadership Conference, candidates will conduct a final speech on the first day (July 9th, 2026) and answer a few questions submitted by constituents or the Elections Committee live on stage. This will provide an opportunity for conference attendees to physically see all candidates up for election. This will also allow attendees to interact with and get to know candidates throughout the weekend prior to voting.

Deliberations and voting will be conducted during the regional caucus on July 11th, 2026. Attendees will be separated into their respective regions and discuss each candidate, their qualifications, and their platforms. These deliberations will be lead by each region’s designated CoRR. Voting body information can be found in the UNAVSA Constitution and has been included below:

  • For the Executive Board, all members of the Executive Board will be represented by a singular vote.
  • For the Cabinet Committees, all members of the Cabinet Committees will be represented by a singular vote.
  • For the Regional Partners, each Region shall have one vote regardless of the number of CORR for that region.
    • In the case where two persons serve a joint position, only one person is required to submit the vote on behalf of that entity.

Once deliberations have been completed, CoRR will collect votes from attendees from each respective region. Each Regional Partner’s vote will be represented by a simple majority of these votes. In  the case of UNAVSA Cabinet Committees and current Executive Board votes, deliberations and voting for these bodies will be facilitated by representatives designated by the Elections Committee.

Voting will be compiled and Elections winners will be announced during the Closing Ceremony of UNAVSA Conference (July 12th, 2026).