Chris M. Kwok was born in China and raised in Queens, New York. A graduate of Stuyvesant High School, he majored in Government and minored in Asian American studies at Cornell University. Mr. Kwok was active in the student body, serving in leadership positions in the Cornell Asian Pacific Student Union and Asian American Coalition. He was also a staff member of Cornell's Asian American Resource Center, where he developed research and teaching resources. He graduated from UCLA Law School, where he served on the staff of the Asian American Pacific Islander Law Journal. During law school, Chris worked for the Consent Decree Monitor for the San Francisco Unified School District, where he worked on civil rights issues as related to education access. Chris Kwok worked at the U.S Equal Employment Commission, New York office for 15 years.