About Janet

State Senator Janet Nguyen was elected to represent the 34th district in 2014. Formerly, Janet was a small business owner and Orange County Supervisor. She is former Vice-President of Government and Public Affairs for the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Janet is known for her “firsts.” She is the first Vietnamese-American elected to the State Senate, was the first woman Supervisor to represent the First District, the first Asian-American and the first Vietnamese-American to serve on the Board of Supervisors, as well as the youngest Supervisor elected in Orange County history. In addition, Senator Nguyen is the highest ranking Vietnamese-American elected official in California and the highest ranking Vietnamese-American woman elected official in the United States.

Janet Nguyen previously served on the Garden Grove City Council where she was the first woman Councilmember elected in nearly 35 years and the youngest member ever elected.

She was awarded the We Give Thanks 2004 Women of Vision Award, which recognizes outstanding women who have provided exceptional services to the community. Nguyen was also named to the Class of 2008 Latino OC 100 for her work with the Latino community, and was awarded the 2008 St. Anselm’s Cultural Diversity Award. In addition, the Orange County Register has listed her as one of the “30 Vietnamese-Americans to Watch” and she was named one of OC Metro Magazine 2006 “25 Hottest People” in Orange County for her demonstrated leadership and influence in Southern California.

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Janet Nguyen and her family escaped their homeland on a small wooden 10-meter boat sailing across the South China Sea in search of freedom. After passing through numerous refugee camps, Janet and her family arrived in California in 1981. She is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine. She resides in Garden Grove with her husband, Tom and two sons.