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Tram Nguyen
Tram Nguyen
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives; from the 18th Essex district
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 2, 2019
Preceded by	Jim Lyons
Personal details
Born	June 22, 1986 (age 38); Vietnam
Political party	Democratic
Residence(s)	Andover, Massachusetts
Education	Tufts University (BA); Northeastern University (JD}; Harvard University (MPA);

Tram Nguyen (Vietnamese: Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Trâm; born June 22, 1986) is an American politician serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 18th Essex District. She represents the towns of Andover, Boxford, North Andover, and Tewksbury. Nguyen serves as the Vice Chair of the House Committee on Steering, Policy & Scheduling (first AAPI woman Vice Chair in the MA House of Representatives) and member of Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use & Recovery Committee, Joint Committee on Municipalities & Regional Governments, Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion, and House Committee Human Resources & Employee Engagement. 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.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Nguyen is the highest ranking Asian American woman in the Massachusetts legislature. ^[5]

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 Andover. Nguyen graduated from Methuen High School and enrolled at Tufts University as a first-generation college student.^[6] 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 Tufts University and then her J.D. from Northeastern University.^[7] In 2022, Nguyen was named a Rappaport Urban Scholar.^[8] 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.^{[citation needed]}

State representative

Tram Nguyen ran for State Representative of the 18th Essex District (parts of Andover, North Andover, 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.^[9] Additionally, Nguyen is the first Vietnamese-American woman to be elected to office in Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[10]

References

^ "Meet Tram". Tram Nguyen for State Representative. 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ "Tram T. Nguyen: Committees". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ "Tram T. Nguyen: District". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ "Tram T. Nguyen: Biography". The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ "Representative Tram T. Nguyen".
^ "Tram Nguyen". Jumpstart. May 6, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ "Tram Nguyen". Jumpstart. May 6, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ "Meet Our Urban Scholars".
^ "'I knew that it was possible': Tram Nguyen ousts Republican state. Rep Jim Lyons in election upset". Boston.com. November 7, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ "Policy". TRAM NGUYEN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE. September 21, 2022.