State Rep. Mai Xiong was elected to serve the remaining term of the 102nd Legislature and is now serving her first full term representing the 13th House District, which encompasses parts of Warren, Roseville and St. Clair Shores. Xiong was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand in 1984. Her parents were part of a Hmong tribe in Laos that aided the U.S. as allies during the Vietnam War era. As a result, her family had to flee their home country, eventually seeking asylum in the U.S. In 1987, Xiong and her family arrived in Akron, Ohio. Xiong and her family became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1997. After graduating high school in 2003, Xiong moved to Warren to attend college. In 2007, Xiong received her bachelor’s of fine arts in graphic design, and began working at an advertising agency. In 2018, Xiong started a business designing and shipping women’s clothing, opening a storefront in 2019. She was elected to serve on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners in 2020. As a commissioner, Xiong helped connect small business owners to public resources, fought to keep public transportation running in Macomb and voted to fund critical services for seniors, veterans and families. In 2021, Xiong was chosen as a Taubman Fellow where she attended Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. During the same time, she participated in the Michigan State University’s Michigan Political Leadership Program.
