Meet Jaja Chen
Hi Waco Moms! My name is Jaja and I am so honored to be part of the Waco Moms Blog contributing team!
I moved to Waco in 2011 to attend Baylor and graduated from both the Bachelor and Master of Social Work program in the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. Moving around throughout my later childhood in China & Taiwan led me to want to eventually live in large, international cities. However, my husband Devin and I met at an international student bible study as students at Baylor. We eventually got married in Waco and after I finished grad school, we decided to stay! Devin became a high school engineer teacher while I began working as a social worker and counselor in a local non-profit organization.
Through our continued community involvements as helping professionals in Waco, we both realized how much we love being part of a smaller town that is on the move! We both believed (and continue to believe!) deeply in Waco’s potential.
More recently, we have continued expanding our roots in Waco by starting a small business together. We would always joke about selling Chinese food at the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market when buying veggies at the market. That joke came to eventually become a dream and then a reality!
We launched Waco Cha, our organic bubble milk tea stand, last summer at the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market! And it was then that I also jumped full-time into private practice specializing in counseling for helping professionals & entrepreneur burnout, trauma, women’s issues, and maternal mental health. I like to say that I am a private practice therapist by day, entrepreneur/Waco Cha tea maker by night. But truly these are both integral roles in my life. We most recently purchased a food truck and are working on renovating it to expand beyond the farmer’s market. Tentative launch is summer 2019 in downtown Waco. So this season is filled with many busy yet exciting transitions in life.
In my free time and time off, I love traveling with Devin and going to China to visit family members. The majority of our family lives overseas in China and Taiwan so this always gives us a reason to travel. I also love practicing yoga, hiking, trying new restaurants around town, spending time with international students in the international student ministries that we are a part of at our church, and (of course!) blogging!
My favorite topics to blog about include holistic self-care, shame & self-compassion, maternal mental health, postpartum care, pregnancy preparation, diversity in cultures, and life as an entrepreneur. Alongside blogging here, I also enjoy guest blogging for local businesses and organizations including Waco Cha, Act Locally Waco, and the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
While I am not yet a mama myself, my hope in being part of Waco Moms Blog is to help shed light on myths regarding maternal mental health, to speak about women’s and mama self-care, and to share about my journey of becoming a mom when that time comes!
