The veteran publicist had been serving as interim head since August.
Time's Up has officially appointed Ngoc Nguyen as head of entertainment, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.
The veteran publicist had been serving as interim head since August 2019, replacing Nithya Raman, who stepped down to run for Los Angeles City Council (Raman is now in a runoff against incumbent David Ryu in District 4).
Nguyen's two-decade career began in Austin, working for SXSW and the Austin Film Festival. In 2001, she took a job in Miramax's publicity department, splitting her time between Austin and L.A., before moving to the West Coast for good and working in communications and publicity for CAA and then Paramount. In addition, Nguyen also served as a PR and talent relations consultant for major tennis tournaments in Australia and New York, including five seasons as the U.S. Open talent liaison for CBS Sports.
In 2012, Nguyen began consulting on global PR and social impact for such companies as Google, Bad Robot, Harness, Communities in Schools, XPRIZE Foundation and TEDx. She led PR for the 2013 TEDxAustinWomen summit, whose final speaker, Lizzie Velasquez, went viral and spawned the 2015 documentary feature A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, for which Nguyen served as publicist and associate producer. Nguyen also has helped produce Google's "Power On" film series, directed by such first-time helmers as Julie Bowen, Rosario Dawson, Ana Brenda Contreras, Nikki Reed and Lisa Edelstein, to encourage girls in STEAM fields.
"Throughout her impressive career, Ngoc has championed women and their work at every possible opportunity, helping to bring their unique, powerful stories to the forefront and allowing them to shine," Time's Up president and Time's Up Foundation CEO Tina Tchen said Tuesday in a statement. "Ngoc is an independent filmmaker in her own right, but she also brings 20 years of experience in publicity, as well as a lifetime of commitment to social change. Ngoc brings a completely unique sensibility and is an incredible asset to our entertainment work as we continue to fight for safety and equity in an industry with untold influence over our culture and society."
In her seven months as interim head, Nguyen has overseen the launches of the performers' safety manual Time's Up Guide to Working in Entertainment, the journalists' and critics' diversity initiative Time's Up Critical and the Time's Up "Women in Production" PSA.
"The trajectory of my career completely changed because of a few remarkable women who, although alone in their fields, were trailblazers paving the way for others like me," Nguyen said in a statement. "I'm thrilled to be a part of Time's Up, an organization whose fabric and foundation are based around a similar principle: that we are linked, not ranked. At this important inflection point in our industry, I'm excited to continue breaking down barriers and forging a pipeline to leadership so that workplaces are safe, the underrepresented are celebrated, and women have more than just a seat at the table."
