Lan-Ahn Phan's family came to the United States from Vietnam in 1995 when she was 14 years old. Within a year after her arrival, and with the help of a mentor, Ms. Phan became an honor student, won first place for a Science Fair Project, and was honored as the Student of the Year in English at Woodrow Wilson High School, in Washington, DC. Since then, she has served as President of the Asian American Student Association, co-captain of the Girl's Cross Country Team and coordinator of the National Honor Society.

In addition to her academic achievements, Ms. Phan has been a leader in her community, helping other refugee children in her neighborhood. She has organized and taught Vietnamese classes to elementary school children and was a founding board member of Asian American LEAD (a nonprofit service provider for refugee and immigrant families) where she works with parents, youth, staff and other professionals to develop youth programs. In 1998, Ms. Phan founded the Youth Power Group with the mission to engage youth in developing educational, cultural and recreational programs for refugee youth. Ms. Phan also serves as an advisory board member for the National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy.