Linda Thao is a Science Teacher at Fresno Unified School District. She graduated from CSU Fresno with a Master of Arts in Education and a minor in Curriculum and Instruction. During graduate school, she was also a part of an accelerated credentials program where she received her Multiple Subjects Credentials and the Science Foundational Level Credentials.
Linda Thao, Founder of Hmong Women Now
Linda is an educator working with children who fall in the age group categorized as the “worst” age group of students. However, she found this age group to be enjoyable “because of their sarcasm, their not-so-funny jokes, their dramas, and most importantly their tough personalities.”
Linda is also a mother of two boys. Of all the roles she plays, she said being a mother is her most important and honorable role.
I have a humorous three-year-old who believes he is the toughest superhero on the block. I also have a beautiful and fragile, yet daredevil one-year-old whom I love with every nerve in my body.”
“Despite all the hormones my 200 students throw at me eight hours and five days of the week, sometimes being a mother is more challenging than my profession. It is hard but also is the most dignifying job.
Aside from her passion for our youth’s education and trying to be the “best” parent for her children, Linda enjoys reading, writing, blogging, singing, and shopping on Amazon. She has a passion for reading since she was a child and has written multiple (soon to be finished) novels before she started a blog at Hmong Women Now (HWN).
Linda launched Hmong Women Now blog from a place of fear, yet compassion.
I have witnessed the potential our youth now embody. I’ve worked with many Hmong students, and none have yet to cease my belief that they are more prominent, wiser, and more audacious than we were (1900’s and below). They live in a time where the Hmong people are excelling as a community. However, we still have much to do, and we have the potential to do so much better.
Today, those who have climbed the ladder of the American dream have made it, but there are still many left behind with barriers to excel.
As a young student in college, I experienced resentment from my own community for not fulfilling my domestic responsibilities; for not being reserved, submissive, and unapologetic; especially for not occupying the little space I was instructed to stay within. I didn’t feel supported or have the resources I need.
Linda knew first hand that the journey to pursue one’s dream can be a lonely one. We need to help and be a beacon of hope for others, especially our youth.
I fear that without positive role models and mentorship, our young people can be devoured by more accessible affairs like drugs, dropping out of school and low self-esteem.
Because there’s power in number, Linda knew she needed a greater force than herself. With that concept, she created the HWN project to gather resources and positive role models in our Hmong community to give our youth, and Hmong women access to more educational resources.
The mission of HWN is to “aim to enable Hmong youth and women access to educational resources by empowering and fostering both knowledge and courage.”
I hope that as a result of this project, a portfolio of success stories and a collection of the phenomenal Hmong women in our village is created to serve as a possibility to inspire, empower, and remind our youth that they are extraordinary. There’s also a special place in my heart for Hmong women of today. Especially those who are still struggling at defining their own identity.
Through Hmong Women Now, Linda wanted to change the perspective that our Hmong women are full of “envy, resentment, malice, and rivalry.” Instead, she promotes the message that “together we can empower, inspire, and educate youth in the Hmong community.”
Coincidentally, when Linda first started this project, she actually named it Hmong Women of Today, similar to Hmong Women Today (HWT). She later discovered that the name HWT already existed; she then modified her project to Hmong Women Now (HWN) while keeping its original purpose.
HWT and HWN believe that together we are stronger, and together we can serve our community from its unique essence.
Click here to learn more about Hmong Women Now. Be sure to check out the Facebook Live Interviews she did with several amazing Hmong women here. There are a ton of resources that you may find beneficial. If you would like to connect or follow Linda’s work, feel free to connect with her below.
FB: Lenda Thao
FB: Hmong Women Now