About Christine
Christine (she/her/hers) is of Vietnamese & Teochew descent, born and raised in Monterey Park and South El Monte, in Los Angeles County (unceded territory of the Gabrielino-Tongva, Chumash, and Kizh peoples). She is the daughter of refugees. Her mom worked in sweatshops and her dad was a day laborer. She grew up in a CalFresh household, was a former WIC baby, and free lunch student. She is committed to increasing food access, expanding local opportunities, and building healthy communities through inclusive policies and programs.
She has a diverse background in food justice, education, nonprofit, philanthropy, and community development. Christine has written for KCET, PBS, Boom California, and Life & Thyme.
She is the former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. In addition, she is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington studying Educational Leadership, Policy & Organizations. Her research interests include collective impact, food justice, school nutrition equity, community engagement, P-20 education, policy implementation, and organizational studies.
Her prior experiences also include teaching middle and high school as well as engaging in local, state, and federal policy and program analysis work across the United States in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York City, and Seattle. In 2015, she received the Congressional Hunger Center Alumni Leadership Award for leadership in programs or policies that promote social justice, reduce poverty and oppression and improve food security.
Christine is a Head Start alumna and is a first-generation high school graduate. She obtained her bachelor's degrees in Asian American Studies and English, as well as a Master of Education from UCLA. She also holds a Master of Arts in sociology from Columbia University in the City of New York.
You can find more of her work at ReaderWriterEater.com and read about her in Womanly Magazine plus listen to her interviews on KCRW Good Food and KPCC AirTalk!
Publication Highlights
Why did I know Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but never knew that the first Asians in North America were Filipinos who arrived as slaves on Spanish galleon ships in 1587? In fact, they landed on Chumash land, now known as Morro Bay, California.
The stories of Asian America matter. It confronts structural discrimination by honoring and preserving our individual and collective existence as a people.
Now more than ever, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, food service workers across the country need [a] paradigm shift as they risk their own health to feed millions of children. By valuing their labor and school food we can better support them on the frontlines of this public health crisis.
Teochew people have survived generations of displacement through global migration, distinctive cuisine, and intergenerational storytelling.