Madison Nguyen has never given up on giving back.

 

Her family fled war-torn Vietnam when Madison was just four years old. They later settled in the Central Valley where Madison worked in the fields alongside her parents. She received her BA from the University of California Santa Cruz and a Masters from the University of Chicago.

 

It was while teaching at De Anza College that Madison first became involved in public service when she helped organize a voter registration drive that successfully registered nearly 5,000 new voters. She then ran for - and won - a position on the Franklin-McKinley School District Board of Education becoming one of the first Vietnamese Americans to serve on an elected school board. 

 

In 2005, Madison made history again when she won a seat on the San Jose City Council, becoming the first Vietnamese American to do so. There she served with two Mayors and was able to make progress on a number of critical issues facing her district. (Madison’s Record of Effective Leadership)

 

Madison left office in 2014 and worked for non-profit and business advocacy organizations and in the private sector. Throughout it all, she never stopped advocating for San Jose residents. Madison was encouraged to run for Supervisor by the many residents who remembered her ability to put aside the politics to get things done.