Dr. Vo Kim Son holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology and Education from Saigon University and a Master's degree in Botany from Washington University in St. Louis. She taught at Nghia Tu National High School and became a lecturer at Saigon University in 1967. Dr. Son earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California in 1974, and after April 1975, along with her Saigon University colleagues, she had to undergo a two-year re-education program mandated by the new communist government.
In 1981, Dr. Son fled Vietnam by boat and was one of the 14,000 refugees held in the infamous Bataan camp, where she became their first female leader. Upon arriving in Southern California, she joined the Vietnamese Community of Orange County, a nonprofit organization, as the Executive Director. Since 1984, she has been an advisor on refugee issues for the California Department of Social Services. In 1987, in addition to her public service, she also served as the Director of the Center for Multi-Cultural Development at California State University, Fullerton, where she was the founder and instructor of the Asian American Studies program.
