Connie So is an immigrant from Kowloon, Hong Kong. In February 1969, her family of 8 rejoined her maternal grandparents in the United States. She grew up in Seattle s Beacon Hill (Asian American) neighborhood, graduated from the University of Washington with B.A.s in English and Communications (1987). She received her Master s in Public Administration from Princeton University (1989) and her Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies (emphasis Political Science) at U.C. Berkeley (2000).

Since 1992, she has taught at the University of Washington s American Ethnic Studies Department. In 2002, she became a Senior Lecturer and the Supervisor of the Department s Community Practicum and Internship. She is currently the Vice President of OCA (formerly the Organization of Chinese Americans) Greater Seattle. In 2013, she directed the AES student-run conference, "Chinese American Historical Societies - Passage to Seattle," and in 2014, the "Pre-Conquest Indigenous Cultures and Its Aftermath" conference, a joint project between the American Ethnic Studies Department and Heritage University.