I am a freelance writer based in the D.C. area. My writing has been featured in Washingtonian Magazine, Richmond Times-Dispatch, AP News, The Washington Post, RVA Magazine and more. My journalistic interests include human interest and enterprise stories, LGBTQ+/queer & AAPI communities, arts & culture reporting, and internet culture. I also have experience in food writing. In my free time, I run a newsletter-style blog called “Flop Era" — a digital platform for me to muse on pop culture, cultural trends and all things Gen Z. I was also a staff writer at Chelo Chelo, a self-published zine created by and for Southeast Asian creatives.
When I’m not writing, I’m busy trying new food spots, catching up on my readings and being perpetually online.
Selected Clips
LGBTQIA+ youth activists urge school districts to reject Virginia’s anti-trans school guidelines (Prism)
Washingtonian
Summer Days at Some DC Public Pools Can Be Like a Party
Secrets Behind “Wonder Woman 1984,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and Other DC Film Shoots
Meet Some of the Fans Who Waited Hours to See Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in Fairfax
Almira Zaky Will Never Stop Representing Virginia
3 Recently Opened LGBTQ+ Bars to Check Out
Meet Five DC-Area Women Depicted by Those Bright Orange Smithsonian Statues
Ukrainian Sisters Who Own a DC Bakery Talk About a Terrible Time
A Mother-Daughter Duo Will Create the 11th Street Bridge Park’s First Public Artwork
Wale Says He’s Pulling Out of Broccoli City Music Festival
+ more
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Health care equity still out of reach for LGBTQ people
'We are invisible': Asian Americans seek to fill in gaps in Virginia's history curriculum
Barriers exist for LGBTQ people as both foster parents and foster children
In Richmond, a heat-mapping effort seeks to mitigate effects of climate change
Virginia LGBTQ organizations fight back on lawsuits that threaten transgender student protections
'Queer church': A Richmond pop-up market offers safe space to marginalized communities
Nonprofit TAP VA supplies free clothing care packages for transgender Virginians
+ more
Capital News Service
Virginia Asian communities, lawmakers react to violence
Lawmakers amend Virginia Human Rights Act; kill workplace harassment bills
Virginia restaurants grapple with plastic foam container ban
Virginia moves closer to banning plastic foam containers
Virginia House advances resolution on water as a human right
Bills advance to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine distribution
Central Virginia food bank provides relief during pandemic
Lawmakers split over bill banning plastic foam to-go containers
RVA Magazine
A Safe(r) Space to Cowork and Create
Project Yoga Richmond Celebrates 10 Years of Wellness
StoryCorps Hopes to Reunite a Divided Richmond ‘One Small Step’ At a Time
1708 Gallery’s Billboards Spotlight Social Issues, Civil Participation
The Art of Stooping in Richmond
Bringing Greenery to Richmond’s Hottest Neighborhoods
Richmond Public Schools’ Chosen Name Practice to Take Effect This Fall
Flop Era
Flop Era is a Substack newsletter-style blog where I periodically post occasional musings on all things Gen-Z. It’s a space for me to analyze pop culture, internet cultures and trends, the Asian Diaspora and plenty more of whatever is on my mind.
featured posts:
why are gays so obsessed with halloween?
instagram's in her flop era? she's just like me
asian diaspora antics: why are vietnamese americans stuck in a time warp?
so i binged-watched gay teen angst (the yassification of queer representation in television)
Below are selected pages from Vol. 1: Hybrid Identity. Visit chelochelozine.com to view the entirety of the zine.
Chelo Chelo (combination of Chè + Halo halo, desserts originated from Vietnam and the Philippines, respectively) is a self-published zine centers around Southeast Asian creatives and writers. Chelo Chelo’s mission is to provide a platform for Southeast Asian creatives to highlight issues and to champion their creativity.
My piece “Rethinking Solidarity: Making It a Part of Our Identity” for Chelo Chelo Vol. 1 “Hybrid Identity.” Pages designed by Archerd Aparejo.
In late 2019, I was approached by fellow VCU student and friend Nico Gavino about the idea to create a space for Southeast Asian creatives to showcase our works — a concept that, for the most part, largely doesn’t exist. The project came to fruition — with a team of graphic designers and writers and months of planning, that space has become a reality.
