Brittney Keophoxay-Lam was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in 1993. She recollected stories that her family had passed down about their experiences in Laos, particularly how the Laotian Civil War, which lasted from the 1950s to the 1970s, affected them. Her father unofficially served in the Royal Lao Army and survived a harrowing incident in which he witnessed the death of his brothers, leaving him in a refugee camp in Nong Khai, Thailand. Brittney recalled her parents' immigrant experience and how the cultural mistranslations between Lao and America impacted her as a Laotian American at various phases in her life. She remembered how such a disconnect contributed to her family losing their home during the 2007-2008 recession, falling victim to a predatory lending scheme. Brittney reflected on the trauma from this incident and how it has inspired her to pursue law to protect other ethnic families from suffering a similar experience. She discussed how food proved critical in maintaining her Laotian cultural heritage in America and how the misappropriation of Lao food as Thai has motivated her to rectify the differences in their food vending business. Brittney recounted her collegiate experience in the Southern New Hampshire area, as well as her work as a paralegal during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Her father’s death in 2024 prompted her to move to Florida, as she sought to recover her mental health through the state’s longer daytime hours and warmer weather. In January 2025, Brittney and her husband, Daniel, launched Mae Tao & Son’s, a Laotian and Cambodian food vending business as a way to honor her father’s legacy, challenge the conflation between Laotian and Thai food, and promote her cultural heritage which often remains overlooked in the larger Asian cultural milieu. She discussed the early hardships of developing the business and what she seeks to accomplish over the next decade. Lastly, she shared her initial observations about Florida, how it compares to the Northeast, and what she hopes to achieve personally, professionally, and culturally in the state.