Our Founders

Christy is a Lao Isan American daughter of refugees. She is the Founder of Tuk Tuk Box and co-founder of Courageous Kitchen, a 501c3 charity for internationally displaced persons, including survivors of forced migration and trauma. As Deputy Director of a 501c3, she has nearly a decade of progressive fieldwork experience with proven leadership to support team culture and business operations through global equity and inclusion initiatives and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Her expertise in international aid and community programming include: health advocacy, organizational leadership, mentoring, workshop facilitation, and English language education. She has experience in recruiting and managing teams through trauma-informed care for survivors of humanitarian disasters. ​​

Before pursuing her entrepreneurial career, Christy studied Hospitality Management at Brooklyn College. In 2017, she launched a social enterprise teaching Thai cooking courses for tourists and began developing a Southeast Asian cookbook. Her work and recipes have been featured by Bangkok 101 Magazine, Travel + Leisure Asia, San Diego Union Tribune, and Buzzfeed.

Beatriz is a daughter of immigrants whose family hails from Pangasinan, the Visayan Islands in the Philippines and Jakarta, Indonesia. She holds a Masters in Public Health, completed programs in indigenous and migration health at the University of Peace in Costa Rica, and maternal health at the National School of Public Health in Havana Cuba, Beatriz specializes in the social determinants of health, has worked on California and federal legislative initiatives, and is currently working on policy, systems, environmental change, and nutrition efforts in the Kingdom of Hawai'i. In 2022 she was selected as one of Sacramento’s Top 25 AAPI change makers. She serves as a consultant on topics such as trauma prevention, mental health, eye health, and nutrition. She is passionate about breaking down barriers, creating economic opportunities and uplifting communities of color while striving to be an agent of change.