AUNTIE KRISTINA'S GUIDE TO ASIAN AMERICAN ACTIVISM

Dr. Theodore Chao co-wrote and co-produced the web series Radical Cram School. He is an associate professor of Mathematics Education at The Ohio State University, specializing in equity-oriented education for early and middle-childhood learners. Theodore is a nationwide leading expert in connecting STEM learning and STEM teacher preparation to issues of equity, power, and social justice. He has written numerous articles aimed at educators and parents on ways to teach mathematics from an equity-oriented lens, and he’s spoken at conferences throughout the world. His research has been funded by Fulbright, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education. Theodore has been featured in multiple education-focused books, textbooks, and podcasts. He is the STEM consultant for the Penguin Random House titles Happy Pi Day to You and I Can Code! Can You?, and a STEM educational consultant for McGraw Hill Education, the Educational Testing Service, and the ACT. Theodore’s recent work on Asian American identity education is featured in the Inspire Podcast’s recent episode “Not Your Model Minority” and the book Teacher Educators as Critical Storytellers. Theodore received his PhD in Mathematics Education from The University of Texas at Austin and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard. Theodore is also a parent of three, including the middle school-aged daughter who inspired Radical Cram School. 

Dr. Theodore Chao

Kristina Wong is a Doris Duke Artist Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow, and a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama. She’s a performance artist, comedian, actor and writer who has been presented internationally across North America, the UK, Hong Kong and Africa. She’s also a local elected official serving in Koreatown, Los Angeles. 

Kristina is a creator of the Radical Cram School web series in which she stars as “Auntie Kristina.”  Her newest solo show, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, premiered off Broadway at New York Theater Workshop in 2021. It is “New York Times Critics Pick” and has won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel Awards for “Outstanding Solo Performance.” The show detailed Kristina’s pandemic journey from out-of-work performance artist to overlord of the Auntie Sewing Squad, a national volunteer homemade face mask sewing group she founded. 

Kristina was featured in the New York Times’ Off Color series “highlighting artists of color who use humor to make smart social statements about the sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious ways that race plays out in America today.” She has been a guest on late night shows on NBC, Comedy Central, and FX. Her commentaries have appeared on American Public Media’s Marketplace, PBS, VICE, Jezebel, Huffington Post, and CNN. In addition to Radical Cram School, Kristina’s child-focused projects include  the Gray Gardens for Children theater show and the Houston in Action: Get Out the Vote video series, directed by Jenessa Joffe. She is an author of The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice. 

Kristina Wong

Jenessa Joffe co-wrote, co-produced and directed the web series Radical Cram School. She is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and producer who is passionate about comedy as social activism. Her short films have aired on Comedy Central and Fusion Comedy, racked up millions of views online, screened at film festivals, and been distributed worldwide. Jenessa has been a frequent writing and directing partner with Kristina Wong, collaborating on video content such as the web series Kristina Wong’s How to Pick Up Asian Chicks and a series of Get Out The Vote videos to increase Asian American turnout for the November 2020 election. Jenessa has produced marketing videos for clients such as HarperAudio, Macmillan Audio Books, and Random House Audio, including for titles such as the Grammy-nominated Yes Please by Amy Poehler and Writing Radar from bestselling children’s author Jack Gantos. Jenessa has worked extensively with children and educators in the creation of video content for non-profit and government organizations. Jenessa grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a BA in East Asian Studies and earned an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute. 