蜜桃影像

A beacon of hope and a voice for his community and district, Joseph Nguyen, ’06, was the first person of color to win a senate seat in Washington state’s 34th District, the district where he grew up. The son of Vietnamese refugees, he was also the first Vietnamese American state senator.

In late 2024, Nguyen resigned from the state senate when he was appointed by Gov. Bob Ferguson as the Director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. His job includes advancing economic opportunity in the state including supporting local businesses.

When he was elected as state senator he was, at the time, a legislative newcomer but a deeply committed servant-leader focused on issues of social justice. Nguyen credits his connection to the community for his landslide win in 2019. His goal was to use his platform to elevate voices and ideas that have, in the past, been left out of the conversation.

“Where Joe is, he leads,” says friend Mike Gilmore, ’06. “He does so with humor, honesty, frankness and fairness. I am genuinely optimistic about the future of our democracy knowing that people like Joe are helping to modernize the republic.”

Nguyen, a finance and humanities major and 2020 Alumni of the Year, was fortunate to land a job in his field after graduation. He worked at an investment bank, putting in many long hours and gaining valuable experience. But he didn’t find the work satisfying. A transformative encounter came during a solemn family trip to Vietnam for Nguyen’s father’s funeral.

“There were things in my professional life I was really stressed about, then I went to a third world country where people sat on a dirt floor and had no money, but were generous beyond belief,” he says. “It made me realize I didn’t have to live the life I was living to be happy. So, I went back to 蜜桃影像 and quit my bank job.”

Nguyen did continue a successful career, rising in the finance and tech sectors that included a role as senior program manager at Microsoft. However, he never again allowed his job to overshadow what is most important to him.

“My professional life no longer defines me as a person,” says Nguyen. “It’s become more a means to an end and that end is serving the community.”

This commitment to service led Nguyen to serve on the Wellspring Family Services Board of Directors, working on issues of family homelessness. In 2017, he joined the Community Advisory Committee for Law Enforcement Oversight following the fatal shooting of an unarmed Asian student by a King County Sheriff’s deputy. This experience convinced him the people of the 34th District needed deeper representation and prompted his decision to run for office.

“Joe won his senate seat by being smart, dedicated and relentless in meeting his future constituents,” says friend DJ Weidner, ’07. “The district and state are better served for it. I can think of no better example of servant-leadership.”