Throughout history, there have been many revolutionary women that paved the future for females in fields such as medicine, politics, social justice and more.
From the likes of Maya Angelou, Lorraine Hansberry and Audre Lorde, women have impacted the world in every way imaginable. Though it would be typical for me to go down the personal route and write about women in my life, such as my mother and sister, I want to highlight an underrated leader and activist: Amanda Ngoc Nguyễn. Nguyễn, 31-years-old, is a Vietnamese-American social entrepreneur, Harvard graduate, civil rights activist, and a survivor of sexual assault herself in 2013. As a survivor and witness to insufficient legal prosecutions, she was inspired to found and become the CEO of RISE, a nonprofit organization aimed to protect the civil rights of sexual assault and rape survivors. With taglines of Respect, Inspire, Support and Empower being part of the drive behind the organization, it’s hard to not view Nguyễn as a woman of impact.
Thanks to Nguyễn’s efforts and leadership in RISE, movements within the civil rights protections for sexual assault have begun to soar.
In Massachusetts, the location of Nguyễn’s 2013 sexual assault, 131 rape kits have been destroyed since 2000. However, in 2015, the tides turned in sexual assault survivors’ favor when, Governor Charlie Baker passed legislation to ensure that rape kits would be preserved for at least 15 years, thanks to Nguyễn’s efforts and leadership in RISE. Since RISE’s conception in 2014, it has helped create civil rights protections for more than 85 million survivors of sexual assault.
Nguyễn has previous experience within law, as she worked under the Obama Administration within the U.S. Department of State as the Deputy White House Liaison. This experience aided her involvement in creating and passing of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in 2016, which has become the first bill in Congress to pass unanimously. This bill reforms the handling of sexual assault evidence-collection kits on the federal level, inspired by her own rape-kit being destroyed in 2013.
RISE has also gone beyond sexual assault and advocating for survivors; it empowers ordinary citizens to write laws, just as Nguyễn herself has done. RISE Justice Labs is currently working with ZeroUSA to compose and pass laws across the country to help reduce gun violence.
Aside from the creation of RISE and successfully helping important policies such as the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act, Nguyễn has interned at NASA as the Office of the Chief Technologist and Office of Communication as well, and continues to run RISE. She has also joined the We the Future, which is a series of portraits that exhibit young leaders from social movements.
In recognition of her work, Nguyễn became part of the Times 1st Women of the Year 2022 list, as well as the is being considered for the 2022 TIME Magazine Woman of the Year, Heinz Laureate, Nelson Mandela Changemaker, Forbes 30 Under 30, Foreign Policy 100, TIME 100 Next, Frederick Douglass 100, and Marie Claire Young Woman of the Year.
As a result of all of her accomplishments, Nguyễn has proven herself to be one of many women of color trailblazers that can rise to the occasion and fight for what’s right.
If you or a loved one has experienced, or is experiencing, abuse or sexual assault, please contact the Toll Free 24-Hour support line 855-866-RISE (7473) or the National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673.
“The greatest tool we all have is our voice. All people — no matter their age — have the constitutional right to petition the government. Solutions to our world most pressing issues sit with those who live the problems every day.”