Man Ninh was born in Saigon, Vietnam in 1960. After the Fall of Saigon, he and his family were forced to escape Vietnam by boat in 1981. They spent the next three years at the Galang Camp, a refugee camp in Indonesia. Sponsored to Georgia, Ninh completed his GED and enrolled in the Georgia Institute of Technology. He then moved to Portland in 1986 and transferred to Portland State University to study medicine.

However, after the untimely death of his first wife, he transferred to Concordia College and earned a bachelor's degree in Management & Business while working as a lab manager at an environmental lab. In 1992, Ninh established J&M Consulting, later focusing on immigration law, particularly as it pertains to the Vietnamese community. He became the President of VN Paralegal, Inc. in 2000 and founded the Galang Camp Foundation in 2014.

Ninh has a strong focus on the Vietnamese community, and works to provide support for the community through his work in law and his involvement in various organizations. He recognizes the importance of preserving the experiences of Vietnamese refugees and promoting the perspectives of the Vietnamese community, particularly among the younger generations. Through his work, Ninh continues to be a leader and advocate for the Vietnamese community in Oregon.