Meet Joseph Cao

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A Personal History of Fighting the Odds

Early Life in Vietnam

Anh “Joseph” Quang Cao, 41, was born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, the fifth of eight children. He grew up in Vietnam during the most turbulent years of the Vietnamese Civil War and can vividly remember bombs exploding next to his elementary school. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Joseph fled Vietnam for the safety of the United States. His father, an Army officer committed to the freedom of South Vietnam was imprisoned by the Communists, leaving his mother to singlehandedly raise the five remaining children.

An American Story of Success & Service

At the age of eight, Joseph and two of his seven siblings arrived in the United States. He spent his first four years in America where he attended primary school and learned the English language and culture. Eventually, he settled in Houston, Texas, where he graduated from Jersey Village High School and in 1990 earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

After graduation, Joseph entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), finally arriving in Louisiana for the first time to begin his religious training at Grand Coteau. During his first two years in the Society, Joseph was sent to various parts of the world to minister to the poor and indigent. Joseph was then sent to New Orleans in 1992 to study theology and philosophy, furthering his training for the priesthood. He subsequently was accepted to Fordham University, where he earned his Master of Arts in philosophy in 1995. He returned to New Orleans to teach philosophy and ethics at Loyola University. While teaching, Joseph decided to transfer from the Society of Jesus into an education career in Virginia.

While in Virginia, Joseph volunteered at Boat People S.O.S., Inc. (BPSOS) to assist poor immigrants in their quest for social justice and assimilation; lobbying Congress on issues concerning civil and religious rights. Eventually he became a board member of BPSOS and helped steer the organization for the better part of a decade.

Return to New Orleans

In September of 1997, Joseph returned to New Orleans to study law at Loyola School of Law and subsequently resumed teaching philosophy at Loyola. In May of 2000, he obtained his Juris Doctorate and began his legal career, before becoming in-house counsel for BPSOS. Joseph opened a New Orleans office to aid those seeking social and legal equality, and to provide social and cultural development programs for poor minorities. He was selected by Archbishop Alfred Hughes of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to be a member of the National Advisory Council to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which addresses pressing issues such as women’s rights, child protection, and equality in education.

Rebuilding After the Storm

Like many in New Orleans, on August 28, 2005, Joseph, his wife Kate, and his daughters Sophia and Betsy, fled from their home as Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on the city. Returning in early September, Joseph saw that everything he possessed was destroyed, including his home and his law office.

Determined to remain in New Orleans, Joseph began the slow process of rebuilding his home and business, a process that would take a year and half to complete. Like so many others rebuilding after the storm, Joseph struggled with insurance companies and inept political leadership. Such struggles led Joseph to become politically active, first by assisting residents of New Orleans East in their successful fight against the threatened relocation of a landfill to that area. He then fought energy and telecommunication companies to have basic utilities restored to storm damaged areas in a timely fashion.

A Historic Public Servant

Dedicating himself to the effort to rebuild Greater New Orleans, Joseph ran as an independent for the State House of Representatives in 2007, carrying Orleans Parish. He accepted the request to serves as a board member for the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation, which is responsible for vital programs such as charter schools, medical clinics, and retirement centers. Joseph was appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal to the Board of Elections for Orleans Parish. He was also elected to the Republican Parish Executive Committee, the State Republican Executive Committee, and the Louisiana delegation to the Republican National Convention.

In December of 2008, Anh “Joseph” Cao was elected to represent the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana as the first Vietnamese American in the House of Representatives and the first Republican to hold the seat since 1891.

Joseph Cao understands the struggles of the rebuilding process and shares the hopes and desires of the people of New Orleans. His is a life of determination — to never submit to adversity and to always seek social justice and equality.

• Personal History • Vietnamese refugee • Law Degree from Loyola University • Former Jesuit seminarian • Small business owner • Educator • Married with two daughters • Active member, Mary Queen of Vietnam Church

• Man of Action • Opened local Boat People SOS Office • Worked to ensure equal rights for minorities • Former secondary school teacher • Former university professor • Served on U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops National Advisory Council

• Katrina Survivor • Helped restore energy and telecommunications service to storm damaged areas • Rebuilt his home and business • Helped protect neighborhoods from hazardous dumping of Katrina debris • A leader in rebuilding Greater New Orleans

Joseph Cao… Rebuilding Greater New Orleans as a place of progress and prosperity, Renewing the spirit of hope within our community, and Restoring integrity and honesty to government.