Trinh’s Story: The Heart Behind the Mission
Trinh’s Story: The Heart Behind the Mission
My family came to America as refugees after my father spent years in communist labor camps. This country—its communities, churches, and people—helped us rebuild our lives. I worked hard, earned my doctorate, and built a career serving Veterans.
Now, I’m running for Congress to honor the nation that welcomed my family, to safeguard the freedoms our parents fought for, and to help shape a safer, stronger future for the next generation.
Education:
Trinh earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied law, literature, and political history.
She has published on Vietnamese history, society, and culture with leading academic presses, and has presented her research at Columbia, Harvard, Yale, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the University of Washington, among others. Before joining the University of Oregon’s Global Studies Institute as a research fellow in 2020, she was awarded the Boren Fellowship from the U.S. Department of War and the Fulbright-Hays Research Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education.
Her research—focused on governance, culture, and power—continues to inform her work in policy and public service. Below are selected publications:
Republican Vietnam, 1963–1975: War, Society, Diaspora (University of Hawai'i Press)
Rupture and Reunion: New Translations on the End of the Vietnam War (University of California Press)
“The Vietnam War in Vietnamese Official and Personal Memory,” in The Cambridge History of the Vietnam War (University of Cambridge Press).
Federal Government Experience:
Trinh has direct experience inside the federal government. From 2019 to 2025, she served as a consultant and Subject Matter Expert to the Department of Veterans Affairs, working across a $12 billion portfolio supporting more than 2.7 million student Veterans.
Her work focused on program integrity, oversight, and access—preventing fraud, improving caregiver services, and expanding access to education benefits. As part of her role, she worked with leadership at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Treasury, Department of Education, and the Social Security Administration to negotiate data-sharing agreements.
That experience continues to inform her approach to policy and public service—disciplined and focused on results.
1975
Trinh is the daughter of a South Vietnamese intelligence officer. During the Vietnam War, her father worked alongside American advisors to protect civilians from communist attacks. After the fall of Saigon, the new communist regime imprisoned him in labor camps for seven years—not because he had committed a crime, but because he stood for the ideals of freedom and democracy.
While her father was imprisoned, Trinh’s mother fought to keep the family alive. She farmed, took in sewing, and gathered scrap metal to trade for food. With no electricity or running water, the family worked by candlelight, carried water by hand, and used hay to keep themselves warm.
1995
In 1995, Trinh’s family came to the United States through a humanitarian program created for survivors of communist violence. With faith and quiet determination, they rebuilt their lives. Like so many who came before them, they worked hard, learned English, and gave thanks every day to live in a country where they could think and speak freely.
2010’s
Trinh went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and forged a career in education, public service, and community leadership. As a scholar, she has published on Vietnamese history, society, and culture, and presented her research at institutions across the United States—Columbia, Harvard, Yale, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UW, among others.
2020’s
Trinh’s parents instilled in her a deep love for America and a strong sense of duty. From 2019 to 2025, she served as a consultant to the Department of Veterans Affairs, protecting Veterans from fraud, expanding their access to education, and strengthening caregiver support. This experience has reinforced her commitment to public service and prepared her to fight for those who served our nation.
2026
Today, as a mother, scholar, and advocate, Trinh carries forward the story of a people who fled oppression to find freedom in America. She is running for Congress to defend that freedom and to ensure that immigrants, working families, and everyday Americans have a voice in the laws we pass and the future we build together.
