Khanh Pham

The daughter of refugees from Vietnam, Pham was born in Oklahoma City and moved to Irvine, California with her parents when she was 11. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lewis & Clark College in 2001, studying sociology, anthropology, and political economy. She later earned a Master of Arts in urban studies from Portland State University.

In 2004 and 2005, Pham worked as a development associate at the Global Fund for Women. She then worked as a development associate for Hesperian Health Guides from 2005 to 2007 and as a family advocate and development associate at Refugee Transitions, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco. She worked as an associate director for the National Radio Project and was a PhD researcher at Portland State University, specializing in climate adaptation and equity planning. From 2015 to 2018, she was an environmental justice manager for the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon. She also worked for OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, and helped launch the Oregon Just Transition Alliance, which spun off as an independent statewide alliance in 2020.[2][3]

After incumbent Democrat Alissa Keny-Guyer announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2020 election, Pham announced her candidacy to succeed her. Pham won the Democratic primary, defeating former County Commissioner Jeff Cogen.[4] In the November general election, she did not face a Republican challenger. She will assume office on January 11, 2021.[5]

Pham and her husband, Hector, have one daughter.[1] She and her family live in the Jade District of Portland, Oregon.[6]