Tram T. Nguyen (; born June 22, 1986) is an American politician serving as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from the 18th Essex District. She represents the towns of

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, Boxford,

North Andover North Andover is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,915. History Native Americans in the United States, Native ...

, and Tewksbury. Nguyen is currently serving as the Chair of the House Committee on Climate Action and Sustainability (the first AAPI woman Chair in the MA House of Representatives) and member of the Joint Committee on Financial Services. She has previously served as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Steering, Policy, and Scheduling and the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. Prior to being elected as the first Vietnamese-American woman in the Massachusetts Legislature, Nguyen was an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services providing support for survivors of domestic violence, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, low-wage workers, and others from vulnerable communities. Nguyen is the highest ranking Asian American woman in the Massachusetts legislature.

Early life and education

Nguyen was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States with her family as political refugees when she was 5 years old. She was raised in the Merrimack Valley and resides in

. Nguyen graduated from Methuen High School and enrolled at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

as a first-generation college student. Before deciding to study law, Nguyen believed she wanted to study medicine and become a pediatrician. Her love for children led her to become involved with the Jumpstart program providing education to help underprivileged children develop literacy skills at a young age. However, her involvement with Jumpstart led Tram to realize that she wanted to continue to help families such as these and preferred to make change through policy, not medicine. Nguyen received a degree in Sociology and American Studies from

and then her J.D. from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

. In 2022, Nguyen was named a Rappaport Urban Scholar. The Rappaport Urban Scholars Program provides full-tuition scholarships to elected and appointed officials to attend the Harvard Kennedy School’s Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) program. Nguyen graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School MC/MPA program in 2024.

Career

Legal career

Nguyen began her legal career as a fellow through Equal Justice Works, one of the most prestigious and competitive post-graduate legal fellowships in the country, and worked at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), where she focused on providing legal representation to survivors of domestic violence in family and immigration law. Nguyen later became a staff attorney at GBLS and then the coordinator for the Civil Legal Assistance for Victims of Crime Project, where she represented and advocated for seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and others from vulnerable communities who were victims of crimes. She also led the Nail Salon Initiative, an initiative to help low-wage workers fight wage theft.

State representative

Tram Nguyen ran for State Representative of the 18th Essex District (parts of

, Boxford, and Tewksbury) in Massachusetts. Nguyen ran against the incumbent Republican Rep. James J. Lyons Jr., who had been in office for 8 years prior to Nguyen's victory and was opposed to women's reproductive health and LGBTQ rights. Nguyen won with a 54% majority victory, a win that she credits to an "aggressive campaign focused on making constituents' voices heard". Her win gained back a historically Democratic seat that had been turned Republican when Lyons was elected to office. Additionally, Nguyen is the first Vietnamese-American woman to be elected to office in Massachusetts. During her campaign, Nguyen ran on a number of substantive issues including better funding for public education, preserving the environment, prioritizing equality and inclusion, gun violence prevention, making health care more affordable and accessible, addressing the opioid epidemic as a public health crisis, supporting seniors and veterans, investing in transportation, fighting for women's health, and improving the lives of working families.

References

External links