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.

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 by his religious superiors 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 in New York, where he earned his Master of Arts degree in philosophy in May 1995. He returned to New Orleans to teach philosophy and ethics at Loyola University. The following year, Joseph left the Society of Jesus and taught at a local parochial school in Virginia.

While in Virginia, Joseph volunteered at Boat People S.O.S., Inc. (BPSOS) to assist poor Vietnamese in their quest for social justice and enculturation and to lobby the U.S. Congress on issues concerning civil and religious rights. He eventually became a board member of BPSOS and served in that capacity from September 1996 to March of 2002.

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 1998. In May of 2000, he obtained his Juris Doctorate from Loyola and began his legal career as an associate at the Waltzer Law Firm. He left Waltzer & Associates to become in-house counsel for BPSOS, opening a New Orleans office seeking social and legal equity for the many refugees in the city. During his time as BPSOS in-house counsel, Joseph initiated programs to help victims of torture and to provide social and cultural developments for poor minorities.

Joseph is married to Hieu “Kate” Hoang; they have two daughters, Sophia and Betsy. He opened his private law practice in 2002, which he continues to operate. Also in 2002, 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 many pressing issues, such as women’s rights in the U.S. Church, social justice, pedophilia and children protection, the Catholic response to Hurricane Katrina, and education.

Like many in New Orleans, on August 28, 2005, Joseph and his family fled from their home in Venetian Isles (located in New Orleans East) as Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans. Returning in early September, Joseph saw that everything he possessed was destroyed, including his home and his law offices. Joseph would once again have to rebuild his life.

Determined to return and rebuild, in October of 2005 he moved his family to Westwego and began the rebuilding of his Orleans home and law office. His office would take three months to repair, his home a year and a half. Like the people of Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes who were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, Joseph has endured struggles against insurance companies and the political leadership and has proven to be a leader in rebuilding the Vietnamese community. He assisted the residents in New Orleans East in their successful fight against a landfill that threatened to change the social fabric of their community. He fought energy and telecommunication companies to have basic necessities restored in a timely fashion.

In 2007 Joseph ran as an independent for the State House of Representatives and carried Orleans Parish. He presently serves as a board member of the MQVN Community Development Corporation which is responsible for many programs such as charter schools, medical clinics, and retirement centers. Last year he was appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal to the Board of Elections for Orleans Parish. He was also elected to the Republican Parish Executive Committee and the State Republican Executive Committee where he continues to serve. In 2008 Joseph was elected as an at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention.

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 improvement and justice.