Thúy Thị Nguyễn, JD

Thúy Thị Nguyễn is a Partner at the law firm of Garcia Hernández Sawhney. Nguyen served as in-house General Counsel to the Peralta Community College District for more than 11 years. Nguyen was an adjunct instructor/lecturer teaching education law for several years at California State University, East Bay. She previously practiced school desegregation law: Nguyen worked on desegregation consent decree and voluntary integration programs for school districts such as San Jose Unified School District and Berkeley Unified School District, and served on the Court Monitoring Team for the San Francisco Unified School District desegregation consent decree. 

Nguyen has received various honors and awards throughout her career. In 2016, for her leadership in creating an unprecedented community college pathway to law school initiative, Nguyen received the coveted Diversity Award from the State Bar of California – a statewide award given to an individual each year who has helped diversify the legal profession. In 2017, she was presented with the Trailblazer Award by the National Conference for Vietnamese American Attorneys. Also in 2017, Nguyen was honored as part of the Carnegie Corporation’s “Great Immigrants” tribute in the New York Times. The tribute is aimed at recognizing naturalized citizens, including former refugees such as Nguyen, who have helped advance society, culture, and the economy.

Nguyen earned her B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University and J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where she was a member of the inaugural class of the Public Interest Law and Policy Program. Nguyen is a Paul and Daisy Soros for New Americans Fellow.