Escaping Vietnam to Become a Leader in San Jose: Madison Nguyen’s Inspiring Journey

Madison Nguyen Courtesy to Bay Area Innovators

It’s a journey that starts with escaping a communist dictatorship.

“In the middle of the night, my parents woke all of us up to board my dad’s fishing boat,” said Madison Nguyen. “My dad only had a compass, but he knew that to escape Vietnam, we needed to sail west, toward America.”

Nguyen later became one of the first Vietnamese Americans to serve on an elected school board in California. In 2005, she made history as the first Vietnamese American elected to San Jose’s City Council—then the nation’s 10th largest city and home to more Vietnamese residents than any city outside of Vietnam.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” said Nguyen. “There are so many incidents of retail theft, smash-and-grab activities happening in our community. You have to wonder, why is this happening again? I want to see that change. I want to be a part of the solution, where we fix these problems.”

After serving the city for eight years, including as vice mayor, she worked for nonprofit and business advocacy groups.

Today, we sit down with Nguyen to talk about her journey and why she became involved in politics.