Zuag Kimberly Chang

Born in 1986, Zuag Kimberly Chang is a first-generation Hmong American born and raised in the United States. This unique life situation led to a curly-haired toddler who straddled both cultural worlds on those countless early mornings when she sang 1980s pop songs and her favorite Hmong tunes. Fluent in both White and Blue Hmong dialects, Chang did not step into the English-language world until age five, when she found kindergarten and the life ahead. Aware of her life-endowed ability to comprehend and be the bridge of understanding for the two worlds that formed her identity, Chang lends herself and her life to those around her. This has led her to embrace opportunities including mentoring, teaching ESL, emceeing for the MN Hmong New Year, and writing for Hmong Today. Chang anticipates that her passion for public speaking and writing will lead her to opportunities to further contribute to the unity and progress of the community through research, speaking, writing, and, most notably, sharing. A 2004 graduate of Stillwater Area High School and 2006 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Chang contends that learning and growing never ends, and expects to attend graduate school in the near future.