News Story

Community leader Tam Nguyen, to serve as Public Member, will join Supervisor Katrina Foley on board to guide transportation policy, projects, programs for Orange County.

ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors welcomed one new member this week, and selected a second to serve as a new Public Member on the 18-person board. Both will help guide transportation policy and programs for a balanced and sustainable transportation future.

Tam Nguyen, a business and community leader from Fountain Valley, was selected to serve as one of two public members on the board. He will join newly elected Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, who was sworn in Monday, April 12. Nguyen will be sworn in and his first board meeting is April 26.

The OCTA board is composed of all five Orange County supervisors, 10 elected city council members representing all regions of the county, and two members of the public, as well as a non-voting member representing Caltrans.

The new board members will help lead transportation policy, programs and projects for Orange County’s 3.2 million residents.

Nguyen fills the seat left vacant by longtime board member and transit advocate Greg Winterbottom, who passed away unexpectedly last year.

Nguyen was selected from among 34 applicants and three finalists. He has a master’s degree in business administration and a medical degree, and he is president of Advance Beauty College, which has campuses in Garden Grove and Laguna Hills.

He left Vietnam as a child with his family and is active in the Vietnamese-American community, as well as advocating for other underrepresented communities.

“As one of two public members on the board of directors, I will always respect the gravity of the public’s will and trust with every board and committee meeting,” Nguyen wrote in his application for the board seat. “I'll be methodical and detail-oriented. But coupled with my grassroots and community-minded orientation, I’ll also be well positioned to help bridge the gap between technical nuances and public understanding and support.”

Public Members serve a four-year term and are eligible to seek re-selection for additional terms.

Foley was elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors in March, which also secured her a seat on the OCTA board.

“I’m honored by this opportunity to serve on the OCTA board. I look forward to bringing my experience and knowledge of Orange County, as both a resident and public leader, towards helping enhance and improve the way our residents travel. I’m anxious to get to work on climate action and more active transportation projects countywide,” said Foley, also the county’s Second District Supervisor.

Foley served on the Costa Mesa City Council for 12 years and was that city’s first directly elected mayor in 2018. Foley is an attorney, businesswoman and a married mother of two sons. She previously served on the Newport Mesa Unified School District board from 2010 to 2014.

“I want to welcome Supervisor Katrina Foley to the OCTA Board of Directors and congratulate Tam Nguyen for being selected to serve as a Public Member,” said OCTA Chairman Andrew Do, also the county’s First District Supervisor. “I welcome their fresh perspectives and enthusiasm for serving the community and look forward to working with them to improve transportation for all of Orange County.”