By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Jenifer Chao
Jenifer Chao brings a wealth of experience in her role as the Director of Neighborhoods for the City of Seattle. Since her appointment in 2023, she brings her energy and sense of inclusion to the position which oversees the neighborhoods in the city of Seattle.
Chao and her family immigrated to Seattle from Thailand through the International Rescue Committee. “We were planted in the Central District,” said Chao. She lived with her family and relatives, which amounted to 10 people living in an apartment when they first arrived.
Chao’s family is part of the displaced Mien community—a tribal group that originated in China but were forced from their homeland to Laos and later moved to Thailand. It is a small community of people, explained Chao. She estimated there being over 2,000 families of Mien descent in the Seattle area.
A trait of the Mien people is that they take care of each other. Chao stated that she and her husband still care for the parents as well as her two kids. Her in-laws and her parents live down the street.
Chao’s father was recruited by the United States’ CIA to fight the “secret war” in Laos. According to Chao, the U.S. approached the Mien Chief and wanted their support to suppress the communist influences in Laos.
“My dad was 12 years old when he first picked up his first gun,” said Chao. When the United States troops pulled out of Laos, her family moved to Thailand, where Chao was born. She and her family immigrated to the United States when she was 2 years old.
The Mien culture was kept alive by Chao’s parents when they moved to Seattle. Chao grew up speaking Mien in the home and learned English at school. Her mother became the first Mien interpreter for the community in Seattle. Chao’s mother eventually went to school at Seattle University and earned her degree in Sociology.
It was against cultural norms for women to go to school, but Chao’s mom wanted to make sure her family and the Mien community had access. So, Chao spoke strictly Mien at home and English at school. But, she noted that when she got older, she could speak both.
While the family maintained most of the Mien culture at home, Chao’s mother made sure that they assimilated with American culture.
When she was in third grade, her mother decided that she wanted Chao to have an American name.
“Jennifer was popular and she (Chao’s mother) gave it to me with two ns and I felt that it was too long,” she added. “Why is it two ns and why is it so long? So I said I’m going to be unique and put one n.” In changing her name to just one n, her husband has joked that it would cause problems for her due to the spelling.
Chao attended Franklin High School and then went on to the University of Washington. Originally, she wanted to be an anchor because she wanted to be on TV. She majored in communications as an aspiring broadcast journalist, but service to her community was in her future. Chao’s mother’s devotion to help other Miens made her an intricate part of the community. But, Chao did not want to do social work because she saw how stressful it was and that her mother was beset with so many people coming to her with their problems. After graduation, she found a job at Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) as an interpreter for the Mien community for the adult mental health program.
“And then from there, I really wanted to work with young people, because young people was a passion of mine,” she explained. “And so from adult mental health, I got into the youth program at ACRS.”
The Department of Neighborhoods was created in 1991 for civic engagement, according to Chao, and it is a huge portion of her position.
“It was really a calling to be able to be in this role, because I would never have imagined or dreamed that there could be a role so ideal with serving the community in all different aspects of city government.”
Chao noted that one of the major challenges she had was after the COVID restrictions were lifted post-pandemic and people were attempting to re-engage.
“The COVID pandemic really took a toll on the neighborhoods, the community, with the human connection. So people were looking to come back together and be reconnected. But I think people don’t realize how much that it really impacted our livelihoods.”
The second term of the Trump administration has brought a new set of challenges as Chao’s department attempts to engage with citizens, especially immigrants due to fear from the current stance on deportation thrust upon the American people by President Trump.
“Immigrant refugee communities cannot tell the governments apart,” she stated about the trouble explaining the differences between municipal, state, and federal government.” So unless you have a trusted relationship with them…they get very confused with: ‘Is the city going to enforce federal laws?’”
“We’ve heard of stories from community members that have had, you know, been deported. People have knocked on their doors. They don’t know what to do, and they don’t want to engage. Without them engaging, then it’s really harder for us to include their voices in any of our planning processes.”
Chao hopes that her department helps the city build relationships and establish trust with the community.
“My joy in this role is being out in the community and that means across the city,” said Chao about what she loves best about her job.
Upcoming for Chao, she will work with the neighborhoods for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. One of the roles her department will play is ensuring that neighborhoods in Little Saigon and Chinatown-International District are prepared and will have appropriate signage so that fans visiting from other countries are able to navigate the city, as well as partake of various businesses.
Jason can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.