Huyen Friedlander
Director of Advocacy
Board Secretary
Co-Founder
Huyen Friedlander is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and the co-founder of Con Tím Mẹ, a nonprofit dedicated to reuniting Vietnam War-era adoptees with their first families. Born in Biên Hòa, Vietnam, in 1971, Huyen lived with her first family until nearly the age of four. Because she was Amerasian, her mother feared for her safety amid growing hostility in post-war Vietnam. Just days before the end of the war, Huyen was relinquished to Friends of the Children of Vietnam. She was evacuated on April 26, 1975, and arrived in the United States on May 10 to join her adoptive family.
In 1996, Huyen returned to Vietnam armed with little more than a birth certificate and the hope of finding her roots. In a remarkable turn of events, she reunited with her first family on her second day of searching—a joyful and life-changing experience. Later, using only a phonetic clue to an unusual surname and sparse information about military service, she located her birth father in the United States and reunited with him in 2001. Today, Huyen shares a close and loving bond with both her adoptive and first families—relationships that have now spanned more years united than apart.
Professionally, Huyen brings over 25 years of clinical experience to her work. Her graduate research focused on ethnic identity development in transracial adoptees, and she developed a cross-cultural competency curriculum for adoptive parents. She contributed a chapter to The Seven Core Issues of Adoption and Permanency by Sharon Roszia and Allison Davis Maxon, widely recognized experts in adoption work.
1996
2001
Huyen’s career has spanned diverse settings—from providing mental health care at AIDS Project Los Angeles, to working as an Adoptions Social Worker at Kinship Center, to counseling university students at UC Davis. Most recently, she has served as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Consultant within a healthcare organization, offering counseling, crisis support, management consultations, and workplace trainings on wellness and interpersonal effectiveness.
She is a Fellow in Thanatology, a Certified EMDR Clinician, and is certified in Critical Incident Stress Management. In her clinical practice, she has specialized in trauma, grief and loss, and LGBTQI+ issues.
Drawing on her personal journey and professional expertise, Huyen is deeply committed to supporting adoptees and birth families seeking reconnection. Through Con Tím Mẹ, she hopes to expand access to DNA testing and community resources, helping others find the healing and belonging that reunion can offer.
