Winona grew up in Ramsey County. She and her family lived in Frogtown, Saint Paul, where she attended Holy Childhood School. Shortly after, her family moved to Mounds View, where she attended Pinewood Elementary and Edgewood Middle School. She attended and volunteered at Community Partners with Youth in New Brighton. During the recession, her family lost their home. Finding refuge in the East Side of Saint Paul, Winona graduated from Johnson High School. She obtained her Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota and her Juris Doctorate from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. 

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Her family arrived to the United States in 1980 after serving in the Vietnam War and residing in refugee camps. Her mother and father, Yia and Cha, married in the United States. Yia gave birth to Winona during spring break of Yia's high school senior year. Yia then worked as a pre-k teacher's assistant and a longtime social worker, while Cha worked at a Kellogg's cereal factory for many years. In their forties, Yia and Cha would both accomplish their childhood American dreams, each earning their doctoral degrees and setting an example of strong work ethic, educational attainment, and grit. Yia and Cha continue to serve their local communities as strong advocates of education and community service. 

 

Named "Winona" for its meaning as "firstborn daughter" in Dakota, Winona is the oldest child of four siblings. Her Hmong name Cheeyein, pronounced Gi Ying, was gifted to her from her two grandmothers. As the first attorney in her ancestral lineage, Winona's very first experiences in legal work were at home, helping read, translate, and fill out social services forms for both her family and for extended relatives who could not read or write. Her first glance at jurisprudence also occurred at home, where in the 1990s she observed her grandparents, as culturally-elected clan leaders, have the social responsibility of making life-changing decisions in community members' lives in issues ranging from marital dissolution, sexual violence, youth delinquency, substance abuse, and trauma. These early lived experiences taught Winona the importance of having access to knowledge of the law and a justice system that the public can place their trust in, leading her to pursue a life of public service and a legal education.

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Through her undergraduate and legal studies, Winona worked and obtained scholarships to afford her education. She had her two children while in law school, and like many struggling mothers driven to build a better life for their children, Winona persevered through her studies, worked to pay the rent, and raised her family on WIC. She is a proud parent to two children enrolled in our public schools. Her husband worked for several years at White Bear Center for the Arts with local youth and artists, and he currently serves as a director for a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to engaging, educating, and empowering Asian American and Pacific Islanders in civic engagement.

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​Passionate about youth literacy as a pathway to intergenerational prosperity, Winona taught writing and reading comprehension to elementary-aged children in her working class neighborhood, where moms and dads worked long hours and could not take larger part in their children's education. In law school, Winona would go on to teach constitutional law to Central High School senior students to equip them with knowledge of stop and frisks, free speech in the schools, and self-advocacy. She continues to serve as an adjunct professor at her former law school assisting former professors and third-year law students in business law. 

 

Winona's lived experiences that she shares with thousands across Ramsey County have provided her unique awareness about societal challenges residents face each day, creating the foundation of her campaign: judges must work to ensure the legal system administers justice while also promoting social welfare and community wellbeing. Led with the strong belief that the administration of justice is truly a form of public service, as judge, Winona aims to serve with empathy, fairness, and impartiality, while leaning heavily on outside community engagement and cross-departmental collaboration to better improve access to our justice system. As the only woman candidate in an opposed judgeship within Ramsey County, Winona brings a new vision, new energy, and new voices with her to the bench. As judge, she will diversify the Minnesota  judicial branch in age, race, gender, and perspective.

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Winona still resides in the East Side of Saint Paul with her husband and their children. On her free time, Winona enjoys taking her kids to fish, camp, and play. Her favorite family-friendly places in Ramsey County are Battle Creek Regional Park in Saint Paul, Shoreview Community Center's indoor and outdoor playgrounds, and the Eagle's Nest in Mounds View.