Kim B. Nguyen-Penaloza

Biography

Kim Bernice Nguyen was elected to the Garden Grove City Council on November 8, 2016. She is the first Garden Grove City Council Member of Hispanic descent. Her proposed district map was unanimously approved by the City Council to be used for the City’s first district elections in 2016.

Council Member Nguyen has called Garden Grove home since the age of ten. She attended Clinton-Mendenhall Elementary, Doig Intermediate, and Santiago High School. In 2013, she graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a degree in politics and a minor in legal studies. She is the first in her family to graduate high school and receive a college degree.

She currently works as a Program Manager, Consultant at Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan.

In October 2020, Governor Newsom appointed Council Member Nguyen to the California Film Commission. This is the first time a Garden Grove City Council Member was appointed to a state commission.

In 2023, she married the love of her life, David Penaloza and in January 2024 the happy couple welcomed their daughter, Penelope Luna Penaloza. The couple spends their time serving their respective communities, loving their pups, Jax and Ein, and watching their sweet lucky Penny grow!

Community Goal

To work diligently to bring consensus with my fellow council members, community leaders, and Garden Grove residents to ensure decisions made are reflective and inclusive for the benefit of the entire city.

Education

UC Santa Cruz, Politics and Legal Studies

Regional Government/Committee Involvement

• California Film Commission (CFC), Commissioner
• League of California Cities, City Representative
  • OC Division, State League Director

Community Service

• Garden Grove Elks Lodge 1952

Garden Grove Resident

Garden Grove resident since the age of ten.