Nguyen was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States as a political refugee when she was 5 years old. She was raised in the Merrimack Valley and resides in Andover. Nguyen graduated from Methuen High School and enrolled at Tufts University as a first-generation college student. Before deciding to study law, Nguyen believed she wanted to study medicine and become a pediatrician. Her love for children led her to become involved with the Jumpstart program providing education to help underprivileged children develop literacy skills at a young age. However, her involvement with Jumpstart led Tram to realize that she wanted to continue to help families such as these and preferred to make change through policy, not medicine. Nguyen received a degree in Sociology and American Studies from Tufts University and then her J.D. from Northeastern University.
Career
Legal career
Nguyen began her law career as a legal intern at Petrucelly, Nadler & Norris, P.C.. She then began to work as an attorney for Greater Boston Legal Services, where she focused on providing legal services to victims of domestic violence and family and immigration law, especially those of Vietnamese descent like herself. Nguyen also led the Nail Salon Initiative, an initiative to help low-wage workers fight wage theft.
State Representative
Tram Nguyen ran for State Representative of the 18th Essex District in Massachusetts. Nguyen ran against the incumbent Republican Rep. James J. Lyons Jr., who had been in office for 8 years prior to Nguyen's victory and was opposed to women's reproductive health and LGBTQ rights. Nguyen won with a 54% majority victory, a win that she credits to an "aggressive campaign focused on making constituents' voices heard". Her win gained back a historically Democratic seat that had been turned Republican when Lyons was elected to office. Additionally, Nguyen is the first Vietnamese-American woman to be elected to office in Massachusetts. During her campaign, Nguyen ran on a number of substantive issues including elected official accountability, better funding for public education, preserving the environment, prioritizing equality and inclusion for gender identity, gun violence prevention, making health care more affordable and accessible, addressing the opioid epidemic as a public health crisis, protecting seniors and veterans from a legal standpoint, investing in transportation, fighting for women's health, and improving the lives of working families.
