Tam was born in Viet nam, graduated from law school in 1974 and worked for the South Viet Nam Goverment. Tam immigrated to the United States in 1980 as one of the refugees known as the Boat People. He started a restaurant business in 1983 and successfully operated the resturant until 2004. Tam completed his MBA in 1993 and taught international business to undergraduate students at Eastern College from 2000-2001. Together with his wife he raised two sons to become a lawyer ( Linh) and a doctor (Quang). Helping people to achieve their goal is Tam's interest. Tam can be described as trustworthy, honest , and a person of high integrity.