Life & Work with Jadyn Nguyen of Englewood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jadyn Nguyen.

Hi Jadyn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Jadyn Nguyen. I was born and raised in Denver, and I’m a proud graduate of Denver Public Schools. Growing up, I was very shy. If I wasn’t speaking with a direct family member then I wouldn’t say anything at all. It wasn’t until high school that I discovered my voice through social justice. Being Asian and from Denver, I’ve always craved finding a leader who represents my similar identity backgrounds. After graduating high school in 2019, I’d go on an apprenticeship journey, learning as much as I could from local leaders about how they create change in our community. I intentionally did not go to college because it was unaffordable and because I wanted to prove that you can make a positive impact in your community without a degree.

Funny enough, after getting deeply involved in Denver’s non-profit scene it wasn’t until 2023 where I met Annie Guo VanDan. Annie, like myself, grew up in Denver and she too is Asian. The moment I learned about her two decades of leadership at Asian Avenue Magazine and CACEN, I knew I had found a new mentor from afar. There’s a saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. This is how I got to working here at CACEN!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not going to college was definitely un-traditional at the time. After high school I had opportunities lined up because of organic relationships I built. While a junior I joined the Colorado Youth Congress as a founding member and I developed a close relationship with the founder, Sam Battan. At a community event Sam told me, “if you really don’t go to college then I’ll have a job opportunity for you once you graduate”. It was part-time but it was something that I could start from! I’ve pretty much repeated this apprenticeship story since graduating!

Once I got older and entered the open job market in 2023 it was much harder than I thought. This time around I had more responsibilities and rent to pay. It felt like no job (anything higher than 60K) wanted to hire me (maybe my high school college counselors were right). However, I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship, so I decided now was the time to start my own business. This was the beginning of my social media marketing business and writing career. Eventually I took this CACEN job in 2025 for added security and because I wanted to work more closely with Annie.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At CACEN I’m the Community Hub Manager for our Social Fabric Hub. Social Fabric Hub is our new Asian community center, we’re 5 minutes from Top Golf in Centennial. We want to help people feel good about being in community. And we pride ourselves on ensuring the Asian American experience is highlighted within our community center.

CACEN is mostly known as the sister organization of Asian Avenue Magazine. We’re most proud of our Asian American Heroes of Colorado program. Asian Heroes celebrates Colorado Asian leaders who are doing phenomenal community work. For example, Bryan Yee is someone you can find volunteering at nearly any Asian event in Colorado. In 2018, he was awarded the ‘Young Hero’ award for his dedication to our community (fun fact: Bryan is now on CACEN’s staff)!

The fact we were born out of Asian Avenue Magazine is what makes us unique. We take pride in our community journalism and storytelling is a deep passion of ours!

And no you do not have to be Asian to engage with the Social Fabric Hub! The wider public engages with us through our community events and people can rent our venue for their own private parties.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up I was a very shy Asian kid. My early friends were classmates who shared the same last name as me (and no we were not family members). I remember intentionally trying to ‘keep my head down’, practicing kindness, and giving out chips to my classmates because I didn’t want to get bullied.

As I’ve mentioned about finding my voice in high school. Once I found my interest in entrepreneurship and social justice, this meant I finally had something I could proudly talk about! I met my best friend Cameron Casados in high school because of an entrepreneurship afterschool program (DSST E-Ship). Cameron was the opposite of me, he could talk for hours upon hours and was very sociable. For me, I was more of a.. listener haha. When we became best friends I slowly learned how to talk more and be more sociable. Entrepreneurship and social justice were launching pads for new friendships and building my initial network.

I’m proud of my efforts to build up our Social Fabric Hub because we want our community center to act as a safe third space. We want people to feel good about being in community and to make more friends!

Pricing:

• $250 | Event Space rental for 4 hours (includes setup and teardown)
• $500 | Event space rental for anything longer than 4 hours ((includes setup and teardown)
• $2,000 | Full Page back ad for Asian Avenue Magazine
• $1,000 | Half Page back ad for Asian Avenue Magazine

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coloradoasian.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradoasian/ and https://www.instagram.com/socialfabrichub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coloradoasian
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coloradoasian

Image Credits
Jadyn Nguyen Headshot – Andrew Tat, https://www.andrewtat.com