Viet Mai

Viet Mai is an Educator, Artist and Consultant who works to enhance the lives of others through community engagement and youth empowerment. As a member of the 2013 ELEVATED! Slam Team, Viet represented San Diego to rank 4th place at the National Poetry Slam in Boston, MA. Viet began exploring his creativity by writing poetry while a student at the University of California in San Diego. With influences from Ethnic Studies and Music classes, as well as lyrics from Hip Hop artists, Viet focuses his writing and performing towards education, community development, self reflection, and empowerment. Also known as vKnowledge, Viet began performing spoken word around San Diego in 2001 at open mics. As his talent and creativity bloomed, he was sought after as a featured poet at many events and venues in Southern California and has appeared in venues across America. In an effort to inspire others through art and culture, Viet is a co-host and organizer of San Diego\'s largest Spoken Word event, ELEVATED. Ultimately, Viet\'s mission is to collaborate with community members to educate, motivate, and inspire the youth through spoken word, art, and culture. He has facilitated numerous workshops with various organizations and youth programs. After obtaining his BA in Math-Computer Science from UCSD, Viet currently serves as a Program Facilitator with the Village of Promise Collective Mentoring Program, and as an Independent Consultant, specializing in School Data and Assessment. Furthermore, he devoutly continues to edutain his audience as a member of Collective Purpose.