Fil-Am, Gastronome, Food Photographer, Human Resources Professional, Proudly Repping Northern California, social media explorer Growing up, my mom never said “Hello” or “Hi”. Her first words were always, “Did you eat?” Food meant family, comfort, love and culture. I didn’t truly appreciate this until my family immigrated to the Bay Area when I was 10. Here, I had to define who I was and that took a long time to determine. In the meantime, I went to college, moved to SoCal, started my career in human resources, got married, divorced and came back to my beloved NorCal. Before I became a cubicle dweller, I was in the hospitality industry for 10 years. But high tech money was too alluring and I advanced my HR career in Silicon Valley startups. However, I missed the simpler life and combined my start up experience with my hospitality and HR background to work for an event planning company. That was where I first discovered the power of social media to promote your brand and ideas. It started innocently enough with the discovery of a “cuisine” setting on my camera. In my amusement, I started taking pics of pretty food and posting it, first on Facebook, Twitter and then Instagram and Yelp. After moving to Sacramento a year ago, social media was a tool I used to discover local eateries, places to go, things to do and eventually, a local social circle of likeminded foodies. You will usually find me on IG or Yelp looking for my next meal or gathering spot. Or I’m hunched over my food trying to find the right angle or shot. I no longer know what hot food tastes like. I’m also the proud auntie of three lively nieces: all foodies. One is an inspiring chef/foodie photographer and the other two are budding singer/performers. I co-parent a temperamental cat with my partner who is a converted foodie and photographer as well.