Karen Tso is a retired dietician who has worked tirelessly to support her community using her knowledge of industrial management and clinical dietetics, as well current social issues. She attended the University of Houston for her undergraduate education, where she first decided to pursue food and nutrition, and later attended Louisiana Tech University to learn institutional management. For the most part, Tso financially supported herself through college with a work-study program as well as multiple side-jobs. After entering the professional field, she worked at several organizations that allowed her to combine her management and clinical expertise, such as Canteen Corporation and Kitchen Delight. She was also the first Clinic Administrator in 2002 for HOPE Clinic, a walk-in clinic in Houston that offers affordable healthcare assistance in over 30 languages, which is especially important for low-income, uninsured patients with language barriers. She served the clinic until 2016. In a similar vein, Tso was also involved in the AAHC (Asian American Health Coalition) and CCC (Chinese Community Center), both of which are closely associated with HOPE Clinic. Tso is passionate about elderly care, particularly long-term care and home assistance, and created a website, Elderly Select, to assist people in researching elderly care options and also educate people about the high costs of such care. Additionally, she founded Nutrition Options, a consulting firm that combines nutrition and disease prevention to provide quality dietary assistance such as meal planning, nutrition therapy, and healthy lifestyle education. In retirement, Tso loves to travel, read, exercise, and cook, and takes pride in her daughter and son. She also donates to organizations such as PBS, CCC, HOPE Clinic, and the Houston Food Bank.
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