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Amanda Nguyen

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Amanda Nguyen
Nguyen in 2019
Born (1991-10-10) October 10, 1991 (age 33)
California, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Occupation(s)Founder and CEO of Rise[1]
Known forSexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act
AwardsTime Woman of the Year (2022)[2]
24th Annual Heinz Awards in Public Policy (2019)[3]
Forbes 30 Under 30[4]

Amanda Ngọc Nguyễn[5] (born October 10, 1991)[6][7] is an American social entrepreneur, civil rights activist, and commercial astronaut. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Rise, a non-governmental civil rights organization.[6] Nguyen drafted the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, a bill that passed unanimously through the United States Congress.[8][9][10] Nguyen has also 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.[11][12]

In recognition of her work, Nguyen was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize[13] by Mimi Walters and Zoe Lofgren,[14] and was named one of the 2022 Time Women of the Year.[2] She has also received the 24th Annual Heinz Award in Public Policy,[3] Time 100 Next,[15] Forbes 30 Under 30,[4] and was credited as a Top 100 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy.[16] Furthermore, 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.[17]

On February 27, 2025, it was announced that Nguyen would fly aboard Blue Origin's eleventh spaceflight as a commercial astronaut under the New Shepard program. The Blue Origin NS-31 sub-orbital spaceflight took place on April 14, 2025,[18][19] making Nguyen the first woman of Vietnamese heritage to fly into space.[20][21][22][23][24]

Education and career

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She graduated from Centennial High School of Corona, California in 2009 and earned a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University in 2013.[25][5][26][27]

Nguyen interned at NASA in 2011 and 2013.[4][28][29] She conducted research on exoplanets at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.[30] Nguyen served as the Deputy White House Liaison for the U.S. Department of State.[6][26] She left her job at the State Department in 2016 to work full-time at Rise.[31] Encouraged by her mentors during her time at NASA, Nguyen aspired to become an astronaut.[26][30][32][33] In 2021 she became a scientist astronaut candidate at the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences researching women's health and menstruation.[34][35] In 2024, Blue Origin announced that Nguyen would become the first Vietnamese American woman to fly to space on an upcoming New Shepard mission.[20][36][22][23]

On April 14, 2025, Nguyen was the first woman of Vietnamese descent in space aboard the six-woman crew who spent 3 minutes in space. The flight took off at 9:30 AM EDT. Nguyễn's carefully chosen zero-G indicator was a note she'd written to herself years ago, promising that, if she were to pause her astronaut dreams and fight for civil rights, "one day [she] would return to [them]." Nguyễn, who is also a bioastronautics research scientist, brought a few in-space projects to conduct during the flight. One of those experiments involves testing material for wound dressing in microgravity. Nguyễn 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 astronauts who menstruate. It is especially pertinent, seeing as Nguyễn's Blue Origin mission was the first spaceflight in 60 years to not have a man on board.[37]

"Historically, NASA barred women from becoming astronauts, and one of the reasons they cited the most was menstruation," Nguyễn told The Guardian. "That's why I’m doing it."[38]

Nguyen also 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.[37]

169 lotus seeds provided by the Vietnam National Space Center that travelled with Nguyen will later be used to study the effects of space conditions on plant growth.[39][40]

Activism

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In 2013, Nguyen was raped while a student at Harvard University.[6][4][41] 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.[42][43] After police officers informed her there was a 15-year statute of limitations for rape in Massachusetts, she decided she would press charges at a later date when she was ready.[44] She had a rape kit performed and discovered that, if she did not report the crime to law enforcement, her rape kit would be destroyed after six months if an extension request was not filed.[4][32][45] She was also not given official instructions on how to file for an extension.[6] Nguyen considered this system to be broken, partially because the extension request would be an unnecessary reminder of a traumatizing experience.[4][32] Nguyen met other survivors with similar stories and concluded that the current legal protections were insufficient.[32]

Rise

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In November 2014,[46] Nguyen founded Rise, a nonprofit organisation which is aimed to protect the civil rights of sexual assault and rape survivors.[26][4][32] Nguyen headed the organization in her spare time[33][46] until September 2016.[31] Everyone who works with Rise is a volunteer,[30] and the organization has raised money through GoFundMe.[6] 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".[32] Nguyen's aim is for Rise to pass a Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights in all 50 U.S. states as well as on the national level.[6] She has also traveled to Japan where a similar bill was presented.[31][43]

Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act

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Main article: Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act

In July 2015,[42] Nguyen met with US Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire to discuss legislation that would protect survivor rights on the federal level.[4] Legislation that Nguyen had helped draft was introduced to Congress in February 2016 by Shaheen.[6][4] Nguyen collaborated with Change.org and comedy website Funny or Die to draw attention to the legislation and encourage voters to support it.[47] Nguyen launched a Change.org petition that called on Congress to pass the legislation.[46] The Funny or Die video and Change.org petition received support from Judd Apatow and Patricia Arquette on Twitter.[48] As of February 28, 2016, the Change.org petition gained 60,000 of the 75,000 requested signatures.[46] By October 2016, there were more than 100,000 signatures.[49]

The bill passed through the Senate in May[6] and the House of Representatives in September.[42] It passed unanimously in both chambers of Congress,[6][42] and was signed into law in October 2016 by President Barack Obama.[6][26][4][28] The law protects, among other rights, the right to have the evidence of a rape kit preserved without charge for the duration of the statute of limitations.[4]

On October 12, 2017, California governor Jerry Brown approved a bill titled "Sexual assault victims: rights".[50]

We the Future portrait

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In 2018, Shepard Fairey created a portrait of Amanda Nguyen as part of a series for the Amplifier media lab's We the Future campaign, a collection of commissioned art pieces that were sent to 20,000 middle and high schools around the United States to teach about various grassroots movements.[51]

What Were You Wearing?

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Since December 2021, Nguyen has hosted and publicized events based on the What Were You Wearing? exhibits, which were created in 2013 by Jen Brockman and Dr. Mary Wyandt-Hiebert and first installed at the University of Arkansas in 2014.[52][53] The exhibits were inspired by Dr. Mary Simmerling’s poem What I Was Wearing, copyrighted in 2005, a widely cited literary piece that continues to serve as the conceptual and linguistic foundation of the global What Were You Wearing? movement.[54][55] Nguyen’s contributions have included hosting and promoting modified presentations of the exhibit, such as a fashion show at New York Fashion Week featuring models who were survivors of sexual assault.

Works

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  • Nguyen, Amanda (March 4, 2025). Saving Five. New York: AUWA. ISBN 978-0-374-61591-8. [56][57][58]

Awards and honors

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Awards and prizes

Personal life

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Born in California,[48] Nguyen resides in Washington, D.C.[6][26]

References

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  1. ^ "Risers". RiseNow. Rise. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "2022 Time Women of the Year". March 3, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Amanda Nguyen receives the 24th Heinz Awards in the Public Policy category". September 12, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "'30 Under 30' Honoree Amanda Nguyen Is Fighting for Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights". NBC News. February 2, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Students Help Draft Sexual Assault Legislation". The Harvard Crimson. January 19, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "How a 24-Year-Old Rape Survivor Is Pushing Congress to Change the Way the U.S. Handles Sexual Assault". People. August 30, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  7. ^ "Who Is Amanda Nguyen? The Young Women's Honoree Worked With President Obama To Protect American Women". Bustle. December 20, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  8. ^ General, Ryan (July 5, 2018). "Woman Who Drafted 'Sexual Assault Survivor's Bill of Rights' Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize". NextShark. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Nahmad, Erica (January 29, 2019). "All Rise for Amanda Nguyen: The Force Behind the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act". BeLatina. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  10. ^ Huetteman, Emmarie (May 25, 2016). "Advocates Praise Senate Bill on Sexual Assault Victims' Rights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Liu, Jennifer (March 1, 2021). "How millennial Nobel Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen's viral video sparked coverage of anti-Asian racism". CNBC. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "Why More Policing Isn't the Answer to a Rise in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes". Time. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  13. ^ Vagianos, Alanna (July 21, 2018). "The Rape Survivor Who Turned Her Activism Into A Nobel Peace Prize Nomination". HuffPost. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  14. ^ Nguyen, Amanda. "Nobel Peace Prize Nomination". Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  15. ^ "Time 100 Next 2019". Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  16. ^ "Amanda Nguyen, 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and the CEO and Founder of Rise". UW Oshkosh Today. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Hirahara, Naomi (2022). We are here: 30 inspiring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have shaped the United States. Philadelphia: Running Press. ISBN 978-0-7624-7965-8. OCLC 1284917938.
  18. ^ "Blue Origin Announces Crew For New Shepard's 31st Mission". Blue Origin. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  19. ^ Earl, Jennifer (March 27, 2025). ""CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King gears up for Blue Origin's women-led space flight in April. Here's what to know". CBS News. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Yeo, Suzanne (May 3, 2024). "Civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen talks being the 1st Vietnamese woman to go to space". ABC News. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  21. ^ "Blue Origin Announces Crew For New Shepard's 31st Mission". Blue Origin. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Meet Amanda Nguyen, set to be the first woman of Vietnamese descent in space". Orange County Register. April 6, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Amanda Nguyen to be first Vietnamese American in space". AsAmNews. April 6, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  24. ^ "Live updates: Blue Origin completes space trip featuring all-female crew". NBC News. April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  25. ^ "Centennial Alumni, Amanda Nguyen, Named TIME 2022 Women of the Year". Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  26. ^ a b c d e f "Amanda Nguyen". Forbes. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  27. ^ "Amanda Nguyen - CEO and Founder, Rise". LinkedIn. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  28. ^ a b c "Global Thinkers 2016: Amanda Nguyen". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  29. ^ "Rising Stars 2017: Advocates". Roll Call. April 21, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  30. ^ a b c "Rape survivors have fewer rights than you'd think. Amanda Nguyen is trying to change that". The Boston Globe. April 7, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  31. ^ a b c "Sexual Assault Bill Author Encourages Youth Activism". The Harvard Crimson. October 25, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  32. ^ a b c d e f "Navigating the broken system was worse than the rape itself". The New York Times. February 4, 2016. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  33. ^ a b "Meet the 24-year-old who could change how the US handles sexual assaults". The Guardian. February 23, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  34. ^ "Amanda Nguyen to become first Vietnamese-American woman to go into space". NBC News. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  35. ^ "How Amanda Nguyen Uses Fashion to Empower Survivors of Sexual Assault". Harper's BAZAAR. July 15, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  36. ^ "Amanda Nguyen set to become first Vietnamese woman to fly into space". MSNBC.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  37. ^ a b Ravisetti, Monisha (April 14, 2025). "Amanda Nguyen becomes 1st Vietnamese woman to fly to space: 'This journey really is about healing'". Space.com. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  38. ^ Moore, Anna (March 5, 2025). "'I screamed and the world listened': how astronaut Amanda Nguyen survived rape to fight for other victims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  39. ^ "Amanda Nguyen makes history as first woman of Vietnamese origin in space". Tuoi Tre news. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  40. ^ "U.S. spacecraft brings Vietnamese lotus seeds into space". vietnamagriculture.nongnghiep.vn. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  41. ^ "The woman behind the sexual-assault survivor 'bill of rights'". PBS. October 28, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  42. ^ a b c d "How One Victim's Fight Got Sexual Assault Bill to Obama". Roll Call. October 7, 2016. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  43. ^ a b "24-Year-Old Rape Survivor Is Pushing Congress to Pass Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights". Time. September 7, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  44. ^ "Obama Expected To Sign Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill Of Rights Into Law". NPR. September 9, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  45. ^ "To combat rape, a 'bill of rights' for survivors". The Christian Science Monitor. March 21, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  46. ^ a b c d "Do We Need a Bill of Rights for Sexual-Assault Survivors?". TakePart. February 28, 2016. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  47. ^ "Here's What a Bunch of 'Supervillains' Think About U.S. Sexual Assault Laws". Fortune. February 26, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  48. ^ a b "This Rape Survivor Just Helped Get a Huge Bill Passed Through the House". Cut. October 28, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  49. ^ "Obama Just Signed The Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill Of Rights". Refinery29. October 8, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  50. ^ "Bill Text - AB-1312 Sexual assault victims: rights". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  51. ^ Grant, Daniel (September 18, 2018). "Political Posters by Shepard Fairey and Others Are Coming to 20,000 US Classrooms". Observer. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  52. ^ "What Were You Wearing Exhibit". Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center, University of Kansas. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  53. ^ "History of the What Were You Wearing Exhibit". Oregon State University. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  54. ^ "What I Was Wearing (poem)". Write Where We Belong. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  55. ^ Barton, Gina (January 26, 2024). "Rape survivors share works of healing, self-compassion in new book". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  56. ^ Brownrigg, Sylvia (March 15, 2025). "She Survived Horror, and Then She Went to Space". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  57. ^ "Review | Astronaut Amanda Nguyen looks back at the trauma that shaped her". The Washington Post. April 3, 2025. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  58. ^ "In the wake of a sexual assault, astronaut Amanda Nguyen turned to activism : NPR's Book of the Day". NPR. April 8, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  59. ^ "Marie Claire Magazine Young Women's Honors Award Recipients 2016". Marie Claire. December 12, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  60. ^ Alawa, Silla; Keane-Lee, Jalena (December 29, 2016). "40 Women to Watch: The 2017 Edition". The Tempest. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  61. ^ "The Frederick Douglass 200". TheGuardian.com. July 5, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  62. ^ "WORLDZ - Nelson Mandela Changemaker Recipient". Facebook. September 11, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  63. ^ "First woman of Vietnamese origin selected to fly into space". vietnamnews.vn. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  64. ^ "Bright Sparks: The 2019 Global Goals List". Vanity Fair. March 1, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  65. ^ "Time 100 Next 2019". Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  66. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
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