Don Nguyen

Don Nguyen, a first-generation Vietnamese-American, is the co-founder and director of mountaineering at Climbers of Color. Currently working as a full-time outdoor guide in Tacoma, Washington, Nguyen and his associates provide supportive mentorship, technical training, and access to key resources such as gear and scholarships to help close the adventure gap. The responsibilities of his position don't stop there; he also guides mountaineering trips in Washington during the summer, leads big game hunts in the Rockies in the fall, and guides ice climbing and expedition mountaineering trips in the winter.

Nguyen's parents were refugees of the Vietnam War, and his ancestors fought against the nation and culture of the people who invented mountaineering, the French, who are still the leaders of it today. This background and the understanding of the lack of diversity and inclusion in the climbing community led Nguyen to establish Climbers of Color, a Washington State non-profit established in 2017. This organization aims to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the climbing and mountaineering community by developing leaders of color. To achieve this, Nguyen incorporates a DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) focus into every aspect of the outdoor education provided through Climbers of Color, which also offers courses to teach climbing skills and leadership.

In order to make the mountaineering community more inclusive, Nguyen shares his climbing expertise with teachers, community leaders, and mentors within the POC space. He firmly believes in a mentor-mentee model to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next, preparing outdoor leaders from grassroots diversity and inclusion organizations to be successful within their current leadership roles as outdoor guides and educators. The measure of success, according to Nguyen, is in his ability to "train the mentors so they can mentor someone else." Nguyen's aim to make the climbing community more inclusive and supportive for everyone, regardless of their background, is a testament to his dedication and passion.

Aside from his work with Climbers of Color, Nguyen also made an appearance as a contestant in 2015 on the Reality TV show “Naked and Afraid” in Namibia.