Diem-Mi Burton

Diem-Mi (pronounced “yee-mee”) was born in Saigon, Vietnam and grew up in Southern California in an immigrant, extended family of parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Diem-Mi’s extended family lives across the United States, Europe and Vietnam.

Diem-Mi discovered arts, crafts, history and film in high school. In her undergraduate and graduate studies, she focused on fine arts, design and architecture at San Diego State and at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles. She explored post-graduate courses in fiber arts, clothing construction, textile and graphic design. Diem-Mi practiced architecture in San Francisco and Los Angeles, working on the design of school buildings and media centers. She also worked as a graphic designer.

In 2014, Diem-Mi transitioned from professional architecture and design to full-time teaching. She taught practical arts at Ocean Charter, a public Waldorf / Steiner school. She has her California art credential and is certified as a national Waldorf Practical Arts Teacher. Diem-Mi also teaches fashion design to international high schoolers attending pre-college classes at UCLA.

Diem-Mi is currently an MFA candidate in interdisciplinary arts at the California Institute for Integral Studies and is pursuing her Career Technical Education certification in Architecture. Diem-Mi has three teenaged children: Misha, who attends UC Santa Cruz; Micah, who is a DVC junior; and Mikeila, who is a DVC freshman. In her spare time, Diem-Mi enjoys her big multicultural family, yoga, edible gardening, ethnic food, plant-based cooking and travel.