Diedre Nguyen

AAPI Herstory: Nadya Okamoto in conversation with Diedre Nguyen, Cancer Scientist and Candidate for California State Assembly

AAPI Herstory is a series hosted by Nadya Okamoto, inspired by her academic work at Harvard with Dr. Vivian Shaw.

Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen was just nine years old when her family came to the United States as war refugees from Vietnam. Her father was a Marine Major, who “fought alongside U.S. troops in Vietnam. After the war ended, Vietnamese communists imprisoned him for eight years, her Mom for three, and Diedre for two months.”

She’s now a prominent local leader in the City of Garden Grove in Orange County. She was elected to Garden Grove’s City Council in 2016 with 66% of the vote and was re-elected two years later in 2018 with 73%. Outside of her work in the community, Dierdre is also a full-time cancer scientist. Nguyen is currently running for the California state assembly, and in the final stretch of her campaign this week. More on her campaign and her background can be found on her website.