About

My name is Elizabeth Jenkins, codename 姜丽 (Jiang1 Li4). This is a photo of me and Jeremy, my partner.

There wasn’t a hospital in Oscoda, Michigan in 1979, so I was born in East Tawas, the next city over. I spent most of my life in Michigan. I grew up thinking that I would be an artist, lawyer, and actress, but I’m not interested in lawyering and acting anymore.

In real life, I am an artist, techie, and organizer. When I decided to move to China, I was working in St. Louis, Missouri as Communications Director for SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Missouri-Kansas State Council. Before that, I was living in New Orleans where Curtis Muhammad introduced me to the labor movement.

Now I’m in China. I’m living in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. The province borders Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. I’ve been here studying Mandarin since June 1, 2006.