Van Tran, Founder & CEO @ Career Rising | Partner @ Create Ripples

If you've spent even a few minutes talking with Van Tran, you'll quickly notice a common thread running through everything she does: people. Whether she's helping organizations navigate meaningful change, building leadership programs for communities of color, or mentoring emerging leaders, Van is deeply driven by connection, belonging, and service.

As a Partner at Create Ripples and Founder and CEO of Career Rising, Van has built a career around bridging cultures, perspectives, and possibilities. Her journey has taken her through startups, global corporations, agencies, and entrepreneurship, but no matter the role, her purpose has remained the same, to help people feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow. In our conversation, Van shares the lessons she's learned from the women who shaped her, the importance of investing in leadership development, and why community isn't just something we benefit from, it's something we have a responsibility to nurture.

1) What is the last thing you were curious about? 

Culture. I’ve spent the past 6+ years exploring culture, particularly cultural identity based on ethnicity and how it intersects with corporate culture. It is a constant in my mind because it’s the lens through which we experience the world. And without a way to bridge across cultures, there’s a huge potential to be misunderstood, undervalued, and excluded. Connection is the key to a deep sense of belonging, care, compassion, empathy, and appreciation. It’s my life’s mission. 

2) We’re a non-profit focused on empowering women. Could you share which significant female figures have impacted your career and how they’ve shaped who you are today?

First and foremost, my grandmother is the ultimate role model for me. She cared so deeply for people and community and embodied what it means to welcome and care for people. She was always observing and anticipating needs. During the Vietnam War, she biked around her neighborhood feeding families who were hiding from persecution. When my family moved to the United States, she welcomed folks from the community into her home for tea or fruit, and talked to each person even when there was a significant language barrier. It is this innate and instinctual desire to connect that is so ingrained in me. She has modeled for me what care feels like. She modeled what inclusion feels like.Other women include Michelle Obama and my Zen teacher, Lien Schutt. These are women of service who model whole human leadership, while still holding values of accountability without judgment.I see the influence of these women play out in the choices I’ve made for my career and my personal life. The roles I’ve taken on throughout my career have always incorporated some level of bridging departments, disciplines, and people to create alignment and traction towards a shared purpose. I’ve been the interpreter for my parents, for teams, and for businesses in order to care for their needs and their interests. In recent years, I’ve learned to include myself in the set of folks that I want to care for and I thank my network of female friends for that.

3) For those who may not be familiar, can you tell us about your role as a Partner at Create Ripples and how your work helps amplify impact for sustainability-minded organizations?

Create Ripples is a consultancy dedicated to supporting organizations in their pursuit of meaningful social and environmental progress. Drawing on over two decades of expertise in strategy and operations, my partners and I provide guidance to help these entities scale their operations and realize significant, quantifiable impact, all while operating in ways that feel very different from traditional consulting firms and corporations.

4) What’s your advice for someone who’s interested in breaking into the business consulting industry? 

I have two pieces of advice. 

1. Be curious and focused on business problems and business impact. For example, if you come from marketing, how does your work align with the larger business initiative or strategy? Are your marketing efforts aimed at increasing market share? What numbers support that?

   
   

2. If you work at a corporate company like Google, AT&T, etc., it is much easier to move into consulting by finding a niche consulting firm that leverages your expertise, while still providing larger business strategy services.

5) Your career journey spans startups, global corporations, agencies, and leadership development work. How has your identity and lived experience shaped the way you navigate these different spaces?

As a refugee, resilience, adaptability, and agility are deeply ingrained in who I am. Equally important is a strong desire to connect with others, rooted in a collectivist mindset. For me, navigating different spaces means intentionally building community within every organization, including cross-department relationships. I want to understand how teams and efforts are interconnected. I’m always curious about the problems that the organization and team members are trying to solve, and if I can, I’ll contribute to solving those problems. Being of service is a core value of mine. I also believe that everything is figure-out-able. I have confidence that I can figure it out, either on my own or with help from the community and connections I’ve cultivated. I’m a bit tenacious at figuring out a problem. Combined, I have a better understanding of cross-organizational challenges that are much more impactful when solved. As a result, people feel seen, cared for, and supported in a business and human-centric way.

6) You describe yourself as someone who connects “people and purpose and vision and reality.” How has community played a role in helping you define your own purpose over the years?

My lifelong inclination to help others has consistently signaled that my purpose lies in being of service. This drive became more mission-driven and concentrated six years ago when I took on additional DEI leadership responsibilities, specifically targeting my efforts toward supporting communities of color. I recognized a gap in culturally attuned programming and training, leaving DEI and ERG communities underserved.

Driven by the desire to provide what was missing, I decided to establish a space dedicated to career and leadership development where individuals feel genuinely understood and celebrated. I noticed that our cultural perspectives and communication styles have often been undervalued or misunderstood in traditional corporate settings. To address this, I co-founded Career Rising, where I now assist communities of color in navigating their unique leadership and professional challenges.

7) Many people in the Asian diaspora feel pressure to follow linear or traditional career paths. As someone who calls herself the “queen of the pivot,” how did you learn to trust yourself through moments of career change and reinvention? How do you discern when it’s time to evolve and pursue something new versus stay committed to the path you’re already on?

If I’m being honest, I’m motivated by the opportunity to have a greater impact. Every role I’ve taken on has been a stepping stone toward broader influence and a more upstream position in decision-making. While I can get lost in execution, I crave the opportunity to make strategic decisions that can be felt across an organization. A pivot might mean moving to a larger corporate setting where I’d have global reach, moving to a smaller startup where a breath of responsibility was available to me, or starting my own venture, where I have full control and am fully accountable to my decisions. So these can be seen as major pivots, but they also make sense if my goal was to have greater impact.I am deeply uncomfortable with staying stagnant and have found familiarity with the discomfort that comes with growth and learning. It’s easy to stay in one place for a season and focus on other priorities, but for myself, it can also feel quite painful. 

When it’s time to pursue something new, I might feel a level of fear in stretching just beyond my capabilities. I know I’m not starting from scratch.Over time, I’ve built a foundation of people-centered leadership, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills that transfer across industries and functions. I may need to learn about a particular industry or deep dive in a particular discipline, but I can pick things up rapidly. It’s a healthy fear of swinging for something that I’m excited about. When it comes to sticking with a path I’m already on, I might feel like there’s more to do, but I’m stuck for a reason of my own making, that I need to solve for. I still feel strongly about the role and the impact, but might be blocked. At that point, it’s good to get another person’s perspective of the problem to break free of that mindset, or to get a little help getting over the hump. And at the risk of being provocative, it might mean exploring an adjacent role for a season that leads to the same end goal.

The last thing I’ll say is that career pathing philosophy is ever changing. We’ve seen opinions swing when it comes to staying with a company long term, versus jumping organizations. We’ve seen opinions swing on being a generalist versus a specialist. Career paths are currently being disrupted right now, and traditional career paths may soon be a thing of the past.

8) Career Rising has become such a powerful platform for leadership and community. What personal experiences inspired you to co-found it? Through this work, what’s one thing you wish more Asian and Pacific Islander leaders prioritized when it comes to investing in their own growth and leadership development?

Thank you so much for this question. I co-founded Career Rising because it’s something I wish I had throughout my career journey. Sure, I’ve secured promotions and accolades, but it wasn’t without pain. I felt like I had put in so much effort and was confused on why my progression wasn’t faster. There’s so much to unpack in that alone. Expectations on time, growth, and cultural intelligence. I spent so much time dissecting why. When I found myself in executive leadership, I was able to see so much more from a different perspective, which has led me to co-found Career Rising.Through this work, I’ve gotten to know so many folks who’ve had similar experiences and I’m so happy to have created a space where we could not just commiserate, but grow together. In terms of prioritization, I would love to see the AAPI community put in as much time, effort, and financial investment into leadership development as they do their craft skills (like coding or marketing strategy). It's often one of the biggest unlocks for personal and professional growth.

9) What’s something you wish younger Van could have heard earlier in her career journey?

You are not alone. Go find your people. Go find your mentors. Go find your sponsors. Find folks who will not only expand your thinking, but hold you accountable to your dreams.

10) Is there anything else you'd like to share—whether it's a personal insight, a lesson learned, or something you've experienced—that hasn't come up yet in the questions?

Community is a gift that has to be nurtured. You can’t take from the community without contributing to it. And a community can also be family.

Connect with Van on LinkedIn