22 Facts About Amanda Nguyen

Amanda Ngoc Nguyen was born on October 10,1991 and is an American social entrepreneur, civil rights activist, and bioastronautics researcher.

Amanda Nguyen is the founder and chief executive officer of Rise, a non-governmental civil rights organization.

Amanda Nguyen has been credited with kickstarting the movement to stop violence against Asian Americans after her video calling for media coverage went viral on February 5,2021.

In recognition of her work, Amanda Nguyen was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize by Mimi Walters and Zoe Lofgren, and was named one of the 2022 Time Women of the Year.

Amanda Nguyen has received the 24th Annual Heinz Award in Public Policy, Time 100 Next, Forbes 30 Under 30, and was credited as a Top 100 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy.

Furthermore, Amanda Nguyen is featured in the 2022 anthology We Are Here: 30 Inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Shaped the United States by Naomi Hirahara and published by the Smithsonian Institution and Running Press Kids.

On February 27,2025, it was announced that Amanda Nguyen would fly aboard Blue Origin's eleventh flight to space under the New Shepard program, along with Katy Perry, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez.

Amanda Nguyen graduated from Centennial High School of Corona, California in 2009 and earned a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University in 2013.

Amanda Nguyen served as the Deputy White House Liaison for the US Department of State.

Amanda Nguyen left her job at the State Department in 2016 to work full-time at Rise.

In 2024, Blue Origin announced that Amanda Nguyen would become the first Vietnamese American woman to fly to space on an upcoming New Shepard mission.

Amanda Nguyen stated that the results of this experiment could have applications for women's health in space, where better absorption technology in microgravity conditions would make it possible for engineers to create space-friendly pads or tampons for women astronauts who menstruate.

Amanda Nguyen tested some materials for next-gen spacesuits and a wearable ultrasound patch, both engineered by researchers at MIT, where she used to be a Media Lab Director's Fellow.

Amanda Nguyen chose not to press charges immediately since she did not feel she had the necessary time and resources to participate in a trial that could potentially last for years.

Amanda Nguyen was not given official instructions on how to file for an extension.

Amanda Nguyen considered this system to be broken, partially because the extension request would be an unnecessary reminder of a traumatizing experience.

Amanda Nguyen met other survivors with similar stories and concluded that the current legal protections were insufficient.

Amanda Nguyen headed the organization in her spare time until September 2016.

Amanda Nguyen explained that the organization was named Rise to "remind us that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can rise and change the world".

Amanda Nguyen has traveled to Japan where a similar bill was presented.

In July 2015, Amanda Nguyen met with US Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire to discuss legislation that would protect survivor rights on the federal level.

Legislation that Amanda Nguyen had helped draft was introduced to Congress in February 2016 by Shaheen.