Vietnam Director Selected for Prestigious Yale World Fellows Program
TRAFFIC is proud to share news that Viet Nam Director Trinh Nguyen has been selected as a 2025 Yale World Fellow, joining a global cohort of leaders driving positive change across sectors and continents.
The Yale World Fellows Program, hosted by Yale University, is a four-month leadership initiative that brings together practitioners, policymakers and innovators to tackle pressing global challenges. With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, systems thinking and inclusive leadership, the program aligns closely with TRAFFIC’s holistic approach to addressing wildlife trafficking.
It’s incredibly humbling—and still feels surreal.”
says Nguyen.
When the acceptance email arrived, I had to reread it a few times to believe it. Being named a Yale World Fellow is a huge honour. More than that, it's a moment of responsibility. I carry with me not just my own journey, but also the voices of local communities, colleagues, and partners I've worked with across Viet Nam and Southeast Asia. It's a powerful reminder that our work at TRAFFIC matters on the global stage.”
Over the past decade, Nguyen has led transformative efforts at TRAFFIC, including reforming internal leadership structures to become more inclusive, advancing behaviour change initiatives such as the Chi Initiative, and promoting community-based conservation solutions. Her leadership has bridged policy and practice, ensuring that conservation is not only evidence-based but also people-centred and culturally relevant.
The fellowship offers space for strategic reflection and the opportunity to collaborate with leaders tackling challenges ranging from climate justice to democratic governance. For Nguyen, it’s a chance to step back from day-to-day operations and ask critical long-term questions:
"At TRAFFIC, we're often navigating urgent challenges. Yale offers an opportunity to pause and ask: how do we develop long-term, scalable solutions that reflect cultural nuance and drive structural change? I plan to explore models for sustainable financing and community-led conservation that could inform our work in Viet Nam and the region.”
Her selection as a Yale World Fellow reflects not only her leadership but also the collective efforts of the teams and communities she has worked with—from grassroots initiatives at KOTO to leading national and regional interventions at TRAFFIC.
I don't see this as an individual achievement, but as a collective milestone—for women leaders, for Vietnamese civil society, and for conservationists working at the frontlines of change. I'm excited to bring new ideas and partnerships back to TRAFFIC Viet nam and our conservation community.”
TRAFFIC celebrates this recognition as a testament to the impact of locally rooted, globally connected conservation leadership. We look forward to the insights, partnerships, and innovations she will bring back to strengthen our collective mission to end the illegal wildlife trade and build a more sustainable, just future.
