Beyond the Halo: reflections on creativity and inclusive community
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Time to read 2 min
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Time to read 2 min
Author of:
We love the thoughtfulness in the diverse foods in the books. It is a true reflection of our Asian American palettes.
I'm an educator/author on a mission to creating safe and inclusive spaces for children and families! Based in the Bay Area (Go Warriors!) Fun fact: Halo is not my real middle name, but taken from my first AOL screename. :)
As an educator, I taught a Head Start program in Half Moon Bay and currently advocate for quality early childhood education access for all. As an author, I created the Adobo, Boba, Chai collection with 4 titles around Asian foods and cultures with themes of diversity and inclusion. I'm confident our world would be in a much better place we if all had access to a quality preschool program and learned about cultural awareness at a young age!
"I had an ah-ha moment when I connected the dots that I've been advocating for children and families whether in the classroom as a teacher, in my books as an author, in my work as a social impact leader...and now trying to grow my platform as a content creator!"
It's been a series of milestones that started when I was first a Head Start preschool teacher. I left the classroom after 2 years to explore the working world only to miss my students and found self-publishing books in 2013 as a creative outlet. It wasn't until 2022 that my ABC: Adobo, Boba, Chai really resonated with an audience, and then I added 3 more titles to complete the collection. I found a pattern that whatever I was doing (as an educator or author) had children and families in mind. Currently trying to grow my platform to maximize impact.
It wasn't until I saw so much anti-Asian violence during the pandemic that motivated me to create a children's book to raise awareness around Asian foods and cultures, and my ABC: Adobo, Boba, Chai was born in 2022. I finished the rest of the Adobo, Boba, Chai collection in 2024 with 3 new titles that explore:
with themes of diversity and inclusion.
I wish all people had access to all go to a quality preschool setting (like Head Start). It's the place where many of us can learn how to be a good friend, listen to the teacher, have empathy, and master the social-emotional skills to be a good human before learning our letters and numbers. I'm confident our world would be in a much better place.
I'm most excited for my return to Comic-Con! This will be my 2nd time leading a kids and family workshop there, and it feels very validating to host a safe and inclusive space when there's a lot happening outside with the news. Looking forward to new opportunities and collaborations to continue this mission!
