Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) honored Charlene Lin Ung as the 2016 “Woman of the Year” for the 49th District during a legislative ceremony held at the Assembly Chambers. The ceremony recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions to California, as part of Women’s History Month.
“I am recognizing Charlene, because she exemplifies that with hard work, determination and passion, it is possible to achieve the American dream,” said Assemblymember Chau. “As an immigrant from Vietnam, Charlene persevered through cultural and language barriers, and ultimately put herself through college, to become an engineer at various leading centers of California’s aerospace industry. She serves as a powerful role model to the community and countless immigrants in pursuit of their educational dreams.”
Charlene Ung is currently an engineering manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, but has more than 25 years of engineering experience in the aerospace industry through her work with Rockwell International, Hughes Space and Communications, Boeing and Northrop Grumman Space Technology. Ms. Ung is also the author of “Nam Moi: A Young Girl’s Story of Her Family’s Escape from Vietnam” a memoir of her family’s experience in the late 1970s and her coming-of-age as an immigrant in Southern California. While studying engineering, she supported herself by working as a hairdresser, and ultimately earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from California State University, Northridge and a Master of Science Degree in Engineering and Production Management from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Ms. Ung resides with her two teen daughters in California’s San Gabriel Valley.
