2022 Power 50: Anh Vu Sawyer
Photo | Matt Wright
Anh Vu Sawyer, executive director of Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts, in Worcester
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Throughout its 300-year history, Worcester has seen itself as a city of immigrants, where different cultures fuse and people from across the world bring their skill sets to the region, creating a diverse economy. Since 1990, the area of the globe that has sent the most people to the Greater Worcester metro area is Southeast Asia, with nearby places like China and India also in the top 10 as countries of origin.
As the leader of SEACMA for the past 10 years, Anh Vu Sawyer has created an incubator of sorts for the region’s immigrant population, providing resources to help newcomers start their own businesses. The latest effort is SEACMA’s partnership with the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp., which has provided funding for several dozen Central Mass. small businesses owned by people of color and English-language learners. SEACMA’s clients now employ more than 200 people.
But SEACMA provides more than just business assistance, serving as a refugee organization and point of contact for 10,000 clients annually for services like food assistance. This effort has included welcoming refugees from Afghanistan, who are resettling in Central Massachusetts with the help of organizations like SEACMA and Worcester Together.
What sets the Central Mass. business community apart from the rest of the world? Worcester is a glorious mosaic of many beautiful cultures that were brought to the city via immigrants, refugees, and other displaced people. They came with hope, dreams, hard-working ethics, and undying love for the liberty of our great country, which allows us to be the best we can be.
Foodie: I eat a lot! And I am a pho addict.
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