Hoa Nguyen, Oregon State House District 48

Hoa Nguyen

Hoa Nguyen is running to serve Oregon State House District 48. She brings with her a wealth of experience in public education, developing and advocating for funding for enrichment programs. Her policy priorities seek to elevate disenfranchised groups while supporting our children with the resources they need to succeed. She is committed to fighting for our community. When she was elected to the school board, she advocated for fair pay and better working conditions for bilingual staff in the school district after learning about the mistreatment of Vietnamese bilingual staff. We need a fighter like Hoa in the Oregon Legislature.

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Early on, Hoa’s grandpa instilled the importance of connecting culture to names. Her full Vietnamese name is Hiền Hòa Nguyễn which means a person that is affable and kind in nature.

Hoa was born and raised in New Orleans, LA in a Vietnamese ethnic enclave called Versailles located about 12 miles east of the French Quarter. Growing up, Hoa was surrounded by a village of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and plenty of cousins who all took care of each other. Her family created a community of family support after fleeing the Vietnam War in 1975 and settled in New Orleans along with many other Vietnamese refugees. Her parents owned a neighborhood food mart and she spent most of her childhood helping her parents at the store and her siblings with school as the “chị hai” or oldest sister in the family.

At the age of 15, Hoa had the opportunity to move and live with a relative in Portland, OR, and has called Portland home ever since. For the past twenty years, Hoa has worked in nonprofits and schools around program development, community organizing, and youth and family advocacy. She currently works as a School Attendance Coach in Portland Public Schools. Hoa’s work focuses on chronic absenteeism which is often linked to poverty, homelessness, mental health, and discipline with the most underserved students in the district. In her work, Hoa has developed relationships with hundreds of students, parents, teachers, and educational leaders. Since joining the David Douglas School Board last year, Hoa has expanded her work with schools, students, and families as she supports both districts.

Hoa is a seasoned professional with deep roots in the Portland Metro region and relationships from years of civic leadership roles. Hoa’s experience as a bilingual, bicultural educator gives her a perspective that is needed in Salem. Throughout her career, Hoa has navigated complex systems and created positive change for youth and families in our public schools and social service agencies. She understands that in order to improve our education system, we need to work on improving the supporting infrastructures like housing and housing to help our communities thrive. She has a proven record of advocating and fighting for access for those who are underserved, which is a benefit to everyone.