DANIEL NGUYEN & KATHERINE LAM
Civic Leaders
YEAR INDUCTED
2024
CATEGORY
Law & Policy,
Culinary Arts,
Business
Daniel Nguyen and Katherine Lam are the husband and wife team celebrating 20 years of entrepreneurial leadership growing a small family business from a single restaurant to a nationally recognized retail and restaurant management company. Millions of people have been introduced to Vietnamese food, culture and heritage at Bambuza Hospitality Group restaurants throughout the Western United States.
Not only are they respected names in the hospitality industry, Katherine and Daniel are actively involved in their local communities and state government. Through their business and public service they uplift communities and create pathways to quality jobs, education, healthcare, and housing.
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Daniel was the first person of color ever elected to the City Council of Lake Oswego, Oregon. Now a state legislator, Daniel represents the 38th district in the Oregon House of Representatives.
Katherine immigrated from Vietnam at age thirteen. She was named a 2024 Woman of Influence by Portland Business Journal. She serves as a commissioner for the Port of Portland, a board member for the Oregon Business Council, and previously for the Oregon BusinessDevelopment Commission.
Daniel and Katherine are the first ever honorees from Oregon to be inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame.
HALL OF FAME ESSAY
Daniel: I think that I was looking at Katherine in in the back, in the green room here, thinking that that can't be us, this is not what we're used to but again, we're just so honored tonight. Thank you Asian Hall of Fame; what an incredible honor. We are proud to represent our state as the first ever inductees from Oregon.
Oregon's unique spirit has helped shape us and taught us about community, hard work, and compassion, and it has always been our privilege to give back through civic leadership. This award isn't ours, it belongs to everyone who has helped support us and the growing, vibrant American Asian-American community that enriches our state. Thank you for recognizing all of us here tonight.
Katherine: As Daniel said, the honor tonight is not just about us, but it's about the resilience and the dedication that everyone has shared with us. Whether you are Vietnamese or Oregonians or simply just people that believe in lifting up others, this award we accept it as not as a spotlight on us, but truly as a recognition in the people that's supported us along the way.
Tonight we thank you, the Asian Hall of Fame, for this very special moment for us. This is a lifetime experience – we're very honored – and also thanks to the people that make this happen.
Daniel Nguyen and Katherine Lam, Induction Ceremony 2024
“Giving back through public service and through civic engagement is something I think a lot about, being that both of us are children of immigrants.”
– DANIEL NGUYEN
