Christine Chen

Christine L. Chen is a two-time Emmy Award winning American journalist,^[1] author of "Happy-Go-Yoga",^[2] certified Yoga instructor, and founder of Christine Chen Yoga.^[3] She is an adjunct instructor in communications at New York University's American Language Institute ^[4] and regular blogger/contributor for Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, HealthDay News, and Sonima.

She has been an anchor and reporter for several U.S. television news networks. She is the managing partner of Chen Communications, a marketing communications consulting group founded in Seattle, Washington and based in New York City. She is also the creator of the blog, Xbox Bride,^[5] an accounting of the social ramifications of wedding a non-video gamer with an avid gamer. She currently resides in New York City.

Background

The younger of two children born to Taiwanese immigrants,^[6] she was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her father was the first Asian Senior Vice President of Bank of America.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9] This program resulted in her placement in Portland, Oregon for an assignment as a reporter for KOIN-TV, another CBS affiliate station. She also served as a CBS Minority Correspondent Apprentice.

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.^[10] 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.

Christine Chen was anchoring Q13 Fox News This Morning on September 11, 2001.^[6] During the World Trade Center tragedy in New York, Chen stayed on air throughout the ordeal, providing essential news coverage to a shaken public.^[6] 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.^[11]

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.^{[12][13][14][15]} 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.^[16] 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.^[6]

PBS and Chen Communications

In 2006, the Obama campaign selected Christine Chen to emcee his public campaign kickoff event for Seattle.^[17] In that same year, Chen announced that she was leaving Q13 Fox and anchored the show for the last time on November 29, 2006.^[18] Some factors involved in her decision to leave were the desire to start her own venture and the need to care for her ailing mother.^[18]

She launched a new business and personal finance show on KCTS, the PBS station in Seattle, called "About The Money with Christine Chen" in 2007, serving as the Launch Host and Anchor.^[19]

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 for companies such as Microsoft, and non-profits such as Susan G. Komen ^[20] and World Vision.^[21] 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, Filipino Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.^[22]

On April 11, 2007, Chen served as Master of Ceremonies for the launch of the Washington State Quarter during a special ceremony at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion. The quarter was launched by Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire, as well as United States Mint Director Ed Moy and the Washington Quarter Advisory Committee.^[23]

Chen also emceed the 2007 Induction Ceremony for the Asian Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007 at the Asian Resource Center in Seattle.^[24]

In 2015, Chen was cast as a sportscaster in a three-part Jack Link's Beef Jerky commercial series "Sasquatch In Training"^[25] alongside Boomer Esiason and Clay Matthews. She had a cameo role in the 2007 indie award winning film, Fortune Hunters. She also appeared in a scene on the documentary "The King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters".

Between 2006 and 2011, she served as a webcast and live host for Microsoft's CIO Summit, and various technology panels, including Adobe during Advertising Week 2015. She presented a combined session to the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce^[26] for the WNET (Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training) on May 15, 2008, entitled "Networking 101: Leveraging Connections in Person and Online".^[27]

Yoga

Chen began practicing yoga in the late 1990s due to stress and back/spine issues developed during her time as a news anchor.^[28] She received her first yoga teacher certification from YogaLife in Seattle.^[28] In 2011, she moved from Seattle to New York and devoted herself full-time to health and wellness through yoga.^[28] She continued receiving certifications in NYC from Om Yoga Center and Laughing Lotus, and 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.^[28] 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. The majority of her book signing locations on tour were at Athleta,^[29] for which she has been a brand ambassador since 2012.

References

External links

• Chen Communications on Facebook (Official Facebook fan page)
• Chen Communications Twitter Page (Official Twitter account)
• Christine Chen Yoga Website (Official Yoga Website for Christine Chen)
• (Official Instagram account)
• Happy-Go-Yoga (Official Author/Book website)
• Xbox Bride Blog (Official Blog)