Tom's family immigrated to the U.S. from southern China in the 1870s. Her grandfather owned the restaurant, New Moon, in Downtown L.A.[1] Her father managed the restaurant and mother was a teacher.
Tom was born in Los Angeles and raised in Monterey Park.
Education
In 1981, Tom earned a bachelor of art degree in Development Studies from Brown University.
From 1980 to 1981, Tom was a visiting student at the University of Ile-Ife in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
In 2015, Tom wrote, produced, and directed the acclaimed documentary, Tyrus, about the pioneering Chinese American artist, Tyrus Wong, through her production company, New Moon Pictures. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was broadcast on the Emmy-nominated season of PBS’s American Masters series. The film won nine festival awards and has screened world-wide.
In 2019, Tom received a Los Angeles Press Club nomination and an Emmy Award for writing, directing and producing the 2018 PBS documentary, Finding Home: A Foster Youth Story.[9][10]