Nguyen was born in White Center, Washington, as one of four children to a pair of Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in the United States as refugees. His family lived in public housing and relied on social services, particularly after his father became a quadriplegic in an accident. His mother worked as a seamstress, while Nguyen himself worked at his own high school as a janitor. He graduated from John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien after serving as class president for three years. Nguyen attended Seattle University and served as student body president for two years before graduating with Bachelor of Arts degrees in finance and humanities with a minor in economics. Nguyen worked as a senior strategist for Expedia and is a senior program manager at Microsoft with an emphasis on strategy and analytics. He has been involved in the company's charitable education program. Nguyen chaired the Associate Board of Wellspring Family Services, a nonprofit organization for homeless services. During his time on the board, the state legislature passed trauma counseling legislation on behalf of Wellspring's lobbying. He also served on the King County Community Advisory Committee on Law Enforcement Oversight, which included criticism of the King County Sheriff's handling of the shooting of Tommy Le in June 2017. Le, a young Vietnamese American man, was shot by officers in Burien who were cleared of wrongdoing by an internal investigation of the Sheriff's Office, inciting outrage in the Vietnamese community. He volunteers at a local homeless encampment, Camp Second Chance, with his daughter.
Political career
Elections
Nguyen announced his candidacy for the 34th district senate seat in May 2018, shortly after incumbent Sharon Nelson elected to retire at the end of her term. The 34th district includes White Center, West Seattle, Vashon Island, and part of Burien. He aimed to increase the representation of people of color in government and "for people here to realize they have the power, the authority, to actually make positive change", also launching a podcast series to attract other potential candidates. Nguyen finished at the top of the primary with 31 percent of the vote, ahead of ten other candidates, and advanced to the general election alongside Shannon Braddock, a staffer to King County ExecutiveDow Constantine. Nguyen, running as a Democrat, campaigned on a platform that focused on housing affordability, healthcare for all, public transit improvements, environmental protections, and education reform. He received the endorsements of congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, several Seattle and Burien councilmembers, various local unions, and The Stranger. His campaign declined to use PAC funding, raising half as much as Braddock's campaign. Nguyen won the general election on November 6, 2018, defeating Braddock with 58 percent of the vote. He became one of the first two Vietnamese American legislators to be elected to the Washington State Legislature, alongside My-Linh Thai from the 41st district.
