Binh Nguyen and I met over 10 years ago, back when she was still a student at Temple, just starting out in public relations. Today, she’s become a chic woman around town — like Emily in Paris, right here in Philly — and, as senior director of communications at Visit Philadelphia, is looking to take Philly to new heights. Whenever I see her, it’s like a breath of fresh air. She always gives me hugs and makes me feel at ease. She told me why that might make sense.
Binh’s given name means “have a peaceful day” in Vietnamese. When she was under two years old, her parents moved with her from Saigon to Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Growing up, her father made a rule that her family could speak only Vietnamese at home. He wanted her to learn her home country’s language. She is grateful he made that rule.
At the age of eight, she had a very American dream. “I was like: One day, I want to be the press secretary of the White House,” Nguyen says. “What 8-year-old says this?” In high school, she was one of five Asian students. Then, as the old commercial goes, she chose Temple University and felt at home being different.
“At Temple, I got exposed to a level of diversity that I didn’t have growing up. I loved my town, but I never felt like I could be my true self there,” she says. “When I got to Temple, I was like: I can be me. There were people from all different walks of life, with all different perspectives, who all looked different and thought different — and it was totally fine.”
“I want to be around other powerful women who are breaking barriers.” — Binh Nguyen
Right out of college she took a job at a local public relations firm and rose to a senior position. After a few years, she decided to go out on her own with “confidence and no plan,” she says. Soon, she was representing people and causes she believed in, like mental health awareness. She loves connecting people, sharing their stories, developing their brands. She even moved to Berlin, Germany for a couple of years, just because she could, while working remotely.
Binh decided to come back to the States when she had the opportunity to work with Angela Val, who’d recently rejoined Visit Philadelphia as the organization’s first Black CEO. “To be the first Black woman to do anything is incredible,” Nguyen says. “That’s powerful to me because I want to be around other powerful women who are breaking barriers.” [Editor’s note: Angela Val is on the board of The Philadelphia Citizen.]
Nguyen has been at Visit Philly for almost two years now. Like me, she’s a foodie who loves fashion. She works on the organization’s partnership with the James Beard Foundation — “In 2023, Philadelphia won more James Beard Awards than any other city in the country,” she notes. — and hosts food writers from all over the nation. Nguyen next wants to promote our city’s fashion scene.
She’s also been part of Visit Philadelphia’s “In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” campaign to welcome diverse visitors, which includes stocking “little free libraries” around town with banned books by Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ authors.
And she’s aware that as a young, smart — and glamorous — Asian American woman, she represents possibilities for women and girls who look like her. “That’s what I wanted when I was growing up,” she says, “I wanted them to see me and think: Hey. One day, I can do that too.”
West Philly born and raised with a slosh of Brooklyn, Big Rube partnered with Mitchell & Ness in 2000 to help make it a global brand marketing and selling high-end throwback jerseys. He has been photographing Philly since 2009, including in a Daily News Column from 2011 to 2017. He’s also a chef, operating Chef Big Rube’s Kitchen seven days a week at Pitcher’s Pub in Manayunk, selling the best handmade food in a Main Street dive bar.
MORE OF BIG RUBE’S PHILLY