Andrew Hill HS, Class of 1987
Former Trustee, East Side Union High School District
Lan Nguyen was elected to the Board of Trustees of the East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) in November 2004 and re-elected in 2008, 2012, and 2016. He was elected by fellow Board members to serve as Board President in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2020. During his tenure on the Board, Lan worked closely with his Board colleagues, staff, and community members/leaders and achieved passage of Measure E bond, the $349M bond that modernized all 11 high schools in the district. Lan also advocated for and campaigned for the passage of the $50M technology bond that brought schools and technical equipment into the 21st Century. Additionally, Lan and his Board colleagues advocated for and eventually passed district wide-policy to put all ESUSHD students on the A-G curriculum track, making sure that the students are prepared for college.
For over three decades, Lan has been an active member in the community. In 1992, he joined the Board of the Vietnamese American Forum. With other Board Members, he organized an annual dinner banquet to honor and celebrate distinguished community leaders who had made a significant impact to the local community. Through this organization, Lan became involved with the political process. He coordinated the first Political Candidate Forum for the Vietnamese community in 1992. The forum drew political candidates from many levels of government including the California State Senate, State Assembly, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and San José City Council. Lan became the Chair of the Vietnamese-American Forum in 1992 and served as Committee Chair of other political candidate forums in 1994, 1996, and 1998.
Professionally, Lan has served at the County of Santa Clara since 2000. He is currently a Division Manager of the County’s Crisis and Suicide Services Division, part of the County Behavioral Health Services Department. In this capacity, he runs the County’s Crisis and Suicide Prevention Lifeline (CSPL). In July 2022, Federal and State officials rolled out 9-8-8, a new three-digit number for individuals with mental health and suicide crisis, Lan developed and implemented this federal and state law for Santa Clara County residents. The County’s CSPL offers 24/7 call, text, and chat access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. People can also dial 9-8-8 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.
Lan is a graduate of Andrew P. Hill High School. He earned a B.A. degree in Business Administration and Psychology from San José State University, and an M.A. degree in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University.