- Frank Jao
Frank Jao is a prominent
Asian American businessman inSouthern California . He was born inHaiphong ,Vietnam , to a Vietnamese father and ethnic Chinese mother.cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/abox/article_1292708.php|date=2006-09-30|accessdate=2007-08-07|publisher=The Orange County Register|last=Gittelsohn|first=John|title=Little Saigon 'Godfather' sets sights on Vietnam] His family was from northern Vietnam but moved toSaigon when the country was divided into communistNorth Vietnam and democratic and capitalistSouth Vietnam in 1954.Fact|date=August 2007Jao fled Vietnam in 1975 and came to the United States; he took real estate classes at
Coastline Community College in Westminster, California, and went on to found Bridgecreek Development, the biggest real estate developer in theVietnamese American enclave ofLittle Saigon inOrange County, California . He developed and currently owns the highly-popular Asian Garden Mall on Bolsa Avenue, which houses numerous Vietnamese shops.cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_904900.php|publisher=The Orange County Register|title=Learning center honors businessmen|date=2005-12-20|last=Fisher|first=Marla Jo|accessdate=2007-08-07] Aside from his business activities, Jao serves in various non-profit capacities as well. In 2005, he was appointed byGeorge W. Bush as head of theVietnam Education Foundation , which seeks to improve relations between the United States and Vietnam. [cite news|url=http://www.thanhniennews.com/overseas/?catid=12&newsid=5165|publisher=Thanh Nien News|last=Xuan|first=Danh|title=U.S. Vietnam Education Fund has Vietnamese chairman|date=2005-02-25|accessdate=2007-08-07] The Le-Jao Center at his alma mater Coastline Community College is named in recognition of donations by Jao and Chieu Le, the entrepreneur and owner of theLee's Sandwich chain in California. He is a resident ofHuntington Beach, California .References
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