KimOanh Nguyen-Lam currently serves as a university administrator and executive director of the California State University system’s Strategic Language Initiative Consortium. She had taught courses for different departments including Teacher Education and Asian American Studies at CSU Long Beach, CSU Fullerton, and UCLA. Her past positions include project director/research associate for the Center for Language Minority Education and Research at CSU Long Beach, member of the State Superintendent’s P-16 Education Council, member of the Measure C Citizen Oversight Committee for the Coast Community College District and trustee of the GGUSD Board of Education. Nguyen-Lam has also served as a classroom teacher, teacher educator and university professor.  

As a member of the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Trustees, Dr. Nguyen-Lam has brought positive changes to the district for students, teachers and families of students from diverse backgrounds. She has helped to foster and strengthen the district’s partnerships with many community-based organizations and parent groups. She contributed significantly to the district’s effort to select the most qualified teachers and administrators who meet the academic needs of all students in a culturally inclusive way.

As the current executive director of the Strategic Language Initiative for the CSU system which covers Arabic, Chinese/Mandarin, Korean, Persian and Russian, Dr. Nguyen-Lam understands the significant roles of less-commonly-taught languages in the global economy, national security and the changing demographics of our country. She collaborated with the office of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez to draft HR 7063- The US and the World Education Act – a bill that would provide funding for school districts to partner with institutions of higher education to create international education and foreign language programs for K-12 students.

Dr. Nguyen-Lam received her Ph.D. in Transformative Learning from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2002. Prior to that, she received an M.A. in Education Administration from Pepperdine University, an M.A. in Education Psychology from United States International University and her B.A. in Psychology from CSU Long Beach. Nguyen-Lam is multi-lingual and speaks English, French, Spanish, and Vietnamese.