Madison Nguyen

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Madison P. Nguyen in an American politician from California, currently serving on the San Jose, California City Council, representing District 7.

Born in Vietnam, Nguyen and her family immigrated to the United States in the early 1980s. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz; and her Masters Degree in Social Science from the University of Chicago. She was the first Vietnamese woman elected to public office in California in 2002. Nguyen served as a trustee of the Franklin-McKinley School District Board of Education.

In just under two years, she became President of the Board of Education. Nguyen continued to advocate for more after-school programs for youth, implemented programs for parents to become more involved and active with the schools and the community, established more technological programs, and engaged in hiring a workforce to reflect the diverse district. Under her leadership, Franklin-McKinley School District will be opening up two new state of the art schools.

As well as being an active member of the Board of Education, Nguyen worked full time as an Associate Ombudsperson with the County of Santa Clara’s office of Human relations, served as a member of the United Way of Silicon Valley Community Advisory Board, and the Asian American Community Advisory Council at San Jose State University. Nguyen has also taught sociology and Vietnamese American Culture at both De Anza and Evergreen Valley community colleges.

In September 2005, Nguyen received 63% of the votes cast in a special election to replace Terry Gregory as Councilperson for District 7, becoming the first Vietnamese American to serve on the San Jose City Council.