Christine Chen

Background

The younger of two children born to Taiwanese immigrants, she was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her father was the first Asian Senior Vice President of Bank of America. She graduated from Miramonte High School in 1986, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in English and Mass Communications Theory in 1990 from the University of California, Berkeley.

She is married to Richard Velazquez, a nationally-recognized leader in the Hispanic community and technology and business executive.

Career

Chen’s network television career has spanned CBS, UPN, Fox (Fox Broadcasting Company), and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). Her career began as a writer and producer for the News Travel Network in 1990 after graduation from the University of California, Berkeley.

CBS

Chen’s first break as a reporter and weather anchor occurred in 1991 in Great Falls, Montana for KRTV, a CBS affiliate. She worked in Great Falls for two years and during that time, she was selected by CBS News in New York to be part of an elite group of five journalists nationwide in the CBS Minority Correspondent Apprentice two-year program. This program resulted in her placement in Portland, Oregon for an assignment as a reporter for KOIN-TV, another CBS affiliate station.

Chen moved to Seattle, Washington in 1995 to accept a new position as a reporter and anchor for KSTW, a CBS and UPN affiliate station. In 1996, Chen received the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Northwest Chapter Emmy Award for Individual Achievement in the News Reporter category during their 34th Annual Ceremony.

In 1998, amid financial difficulties, KSTW announced that it was closing its doors and laying off all 62 employees, including Chen. Despite this, Chen received another Emmy award nomination in 1998.

Fox

With the demise of KSTW's news department, KCPQ-TV, a Fox affiliate, recruited Chen as a reporter in 1999. In 2000, KCPQ launched Mornings Live on Q, and Christine Chen was promoted to Anchor and served as the Launch Host. The show was later rebranded Q13 Fox News This Morning. In 2000, Chen was nominated for another EMMY by the NATAS Northwest Regional Chapter for Individual Achievement as News Anchor.

Christine Chen was anchoring Q13 Fox News This Morning on September 11, 2001. During the World Trade Center tragedy in New York, Chen stayed on air throughout the ordeal, providing essential news coverage to a shaken public. This would lead to her second Emmy award. On June 15, 2002, Chen received the NATAS Northwest Chapter Emmy Award for Individual Achievement in the News Anchor category during their 39th Annual Ceremony for 2001.

Chen was nominated for an Emmy award each year from 2000-2006 for Individual Achievement in the News Anchor category for the NATAS Northwest Regional Chapter. She was nominated twice for an Emmy in 2006 during the 44th Annual NATAS Northwest Regional Award Ceremony, one nomination for Individual Achievement as a News Anchor, the second for On-Camera Talent - Program Host/Moderator. This was the last of her Emmy nominations, resulting in a total of 10 EMMY award nominations and two wins since 1996.

In 2004, she moved to the anchor position for Q13 Fox News @ 10. That year, Christine was named to the list of top 40 Under 40 business leaders by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

PBS

In 2006, the Obama campaign selected Christine Chen to emcee his public campaign kickoff event for Seattle. In that same year, Chen announced that she was leaving Q13 Fox and anchored the show for the last time on November 29, 2006. Some factors involved in her decision to leave were the desire to start her own venture, improve her lifestyle, and the need to travel frequently and care for her ailing mother.

In 2007, Christine launched a new business and personal finance show on KCTS, the PBS station in Seattle, called "About The Money with Christine Chen", serving as the Launch Host and Anchor.

Chen Communications

Also in 2007, Chen formed her own marketing communications consulting group, Chen Communications LLC. As part of Chen Communications, Chen offered media and communications consulting ranging from messaging strategy to public relations, corporate communications infrastructure to internal communications.

She has delivered keynote speeches on the topics of communications, media, business ownership and execution, as well as enabling personal and professional change through developing self-awareness. Some of her audiences included the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration. She presented a combined session to the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce for the WNET (Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training) on May 15, 2008, entitled "Networking 101: Leveraging Connections in Person and Online". On April 11, 2007, Chen served as Master of Ceremonies for the launch of the Washington State Quarter by Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire, as well as United States Mint Director Ed Moy

Chen also emceed the 2007 Induction Ceremony for the Asian Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007 at the Asian Resource Center in Seattle. In 2015, the year her debut book, Happy-Go-Yoga, was released, Chen was featured in the NY Historical Society's exhibit, Chinese American, as a game changer for diversity in the U.S.

Between 2006 and 2011, she served as a webcast and live host for Microsoft's CIO Summit, and various high profile technology presentations, including moderating a featured panel for Adobe during Advertising Week 2015 in New York City. In 2016, Chen began serving as webcast host and producer for BlackBerry, based in Waterloo, Canada, as the company retooled its business strategy and story.

Commercial Talent

Chen had a cameo role in the 2007 award winning independent film "Fortune Hunters," portrayed a newscaster Maureen Yandle in Lifetime movie, "An Upstanding Citizen," and played both city council person and monorail rider in the only Seattle-filmed episode of "Frasier" - "Frasier Crane Day," Chen returned to do sproradic commercial work after a 10-year hiatus. She also appeared in a scene on the documentary "The King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters".

In 2015, Chen was cast as a sportscaster in a three-part Jack Link's Beef Jerky commercial series "Sasquatch In Training" alongside Boomer Esiason and Clay Matthews. She also completed filming for NYU Langone as an emergency preparedness spokesperson.

Yoga and Happy-Go-Yoga

Chen began practicing yoga in the late 1990s due to stress and back/spine issues developed during her time as a news anchor. She received her first yoga teacher certification from YogaLife in Seattle. In 2011, she moved from Seattle to New York and devoted more career focus to health and wellness through yoga.

She continued receiving certifications in NYC from Om Yoga Center and Laughing Lotus, and is on the senior teaching team at Laughing Lotus Yoga Center, helping to certify other new yoga teachers.

In 2013, Chen received an offer from Grand Central Life & Style, Hachette Book Group to publish her first book, 'Happy-Go-Yoga – Simple Poses to Relieve Pain, Reduce Stress and Add Joy', released on March 10, 2015. It was a #1 Best Seller on Amazon.com and was featured in or on media such as Fox News, HLN/CNN, USA Today, Health.com, and Costco magazine. Happy-Go-Yoga was sold globally, including in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Estonia; publisher Hachette sold the rights to have it translated and published in Russia The majority of Chen's U.S. book signing locations on tour were at Athleta, for which she has been a brand ambassador since 2012.