Tam Nguyen

Vice Chairman
Public Member

Vice Chairman Tam Nguyen serves as a Public Member on the Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors. He joined the Board in April 2021 and currently serves as a member of the Transit Committee.

Nguyen is a business, community, and philanthropic leader. As President of Advance Beauty College with campuses in Garden Grove and Laguna Hills, California, Nguyen and his team contributed to more than 45,000 people graduating from the 34-year school’s innovative program with rigorous training that includes educators who speak English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Vice Chairman Nguyen is proud that a large majority of graduates are proudly employed in the beauty-care industry with many becoming successful business owners themselves. In July 2020, the American Association of Cosmetology Schools recognized Advance Beauty College as the top beauty school in the nation because of its unparalleled commitment to community service and superb preparation of its students for a dynamic real-world entrepreneurial environment. The prestigious award also recognizes Nguyen and his executive team for achieving the highest levels of safety and service excellence in the United States.

Nguyen also teaches business management at California (Cal) State Fullerton as a part-time faculty member since 2016. A past president of Cal State Fullerton's Alumni Association and founding President of the Cal State Fullerton Vietnamese American MBA alumni chapter, he remains actively involved in supporting the Center for Family Business, Center for Leadership & Colleges of Education and Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2015, Nguyen was the recipient of the Cal State Fullerton Vision & Visionaries Award.

In the community, Nguyen currently serves as the Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors for Orange County United Way & Chair-Elect of Cal State Fullerton’s Philanthropic Board of Governors. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Garden Grove Community Foundation and Project Vietnam Foundation. Nguyen also is a member of the US Bank Orange County Advisory Board and served on OCTA’s Diverse Community Leaders Group since its inception more than eight years ago.

Nguyen is a co-founder of Nailing It For America, an all-volunteer group of Orange County professionals who contributed with its partners to delivering more than 1.2 million personal protective equipment worth approximately $30 million to healthcare professionals, front-line workers and other vulnerable community members during the coronavirus pandemic.

Vice Chairman Tam Nguyen was a year old when he and his family first arrived in California after the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975. Nguyen, his wife and their three children live in Fountain Valley and are active members of Orange County's vibrant Vietnamese American community.