Welcome Cuc Vu as Department of Neighborhoods Deputy Director 

We are excited to welcome Cuc Vu as the new Deputy Director of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. 

Cuc brings decades of leadership, advocacy, and public service experience to the role. A refugee from Vietnam who arrived in Washington state with her family in 1975, she has spent her career building bridges between communities and institutions, advancing equity, and creating opportunities for people to thrive. 

Most recently, Cuc served as Director of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. Her work has also spanned nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and municipal government, including leadership roles with the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), Service Employees International Union, Human Rights Campaign, and Mi Familia Vota, which she co-founded alongside labor and civil rights leader Eliseo Medina. 

“DON is fortunate to welcome Cuc Vu to our department as Deputy Director. She brings years of impactful leadership within both the community and the City of Seattle. Her proven ability to lead teams through complex, community‑centered work, combined with a leadership style that will complement and strengthen the department, will be an incredible asset to DON,” says Quynh Pham, Director, Department of Neighborhoods. “I am excited for her to work alongside our dedicated team and to bring her care, skill, and drive to advance the department’s mission and vision.” 

As Deputy Director, Cuc will help lead department operations and strategy while supporting our mission to bring government and community together to build collective action for Seattle. 

Throughout her career, Cuc has remained committed to service, community, empowerment, and creating pathways for future generations. She and her five siblings, all first-generation college graduates, established the Hoa Van Vu Memorial Endowed Scholarship at Centralia College in honor of their parents and the educators who helped make their family’s education journey possible. 

”I am honored and excited to support Quynh Pham, the staff, and the mission of the Department of Neighborhoods to increase civic engagement and build Seattle’s civic culture. These have been underlying features of my public sector career,” says Cuc Vu. “I’m excited about the work of DON – from the P-Patch Community Gardening Program, Neighborhood Matching Fund, and People’s Academy for Community Engagement, for example – to enhance the quality of life for all residents – by strengthening the relationship between the City and the people in the neighborhoods we serve.” 

We are thrilled to welcome Cuc to the Department of Neighborhoods leadership team and look forward to the experience and vision she brings to this role as we continue working alongside communities across Seattle.