About the Series

About The Money with Christine Chen is KCTS 9's new business and finance show that spotlights Northwest business and provides advice on protecting, managing and investing your money. In season two, ATM goes behind the headlines to ask questions about what market trends mean to us in the Northwest, from the national housing market changes to the Washington wine industry. Regular contributors provide investment trend analysis with a focus on the long term; insight into where the smart money is when it comes to personal finance; and tips for avoiding scams, from identity theft to foreclosure rescue scams and investment fraud. And, we continue our interviews with business leaders in each episode.

Biographies

Christine Chen, Host

Christine Chen is the host of About The Money with Christine Chen on KCTS 9, Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m., a new generation PBS show focusing on money news and information for everyday people who want to grow their own finances and plan for the future.

Christine is an eight-time Emmy award nominee and two-time Emmy award winner for excellence as a reporter and anchor, with 16 years of experience in news broadcasting. She was honored, in part, for her local coverage on the morning of 9-11. Previously, Christine anchored Q13 Fox News@10 and was the founding anchor for Q13 Fox News This Morning. She also anchored the final newscast for KSTW's highly-regarded 10 O'clock News in 1998. Christine is also a marketing and communications consultant for various local and national companies. The Puget Sound Business Journal named her to its prestigious "40 Under 40" list of top business and community leaders. She volunteers as an emcee and speaker for local community organizations, focusing on kids, education, health and women's issues. Christine lives in Seattle and dedicates her free time to family and friends, her Vinyasa yoga practice, and walking the dog.

Elaine Purchase, Producer

Elaine Purchase has been producing award-winning documentary and news programs for local and national distribution for three decades. She has won the Peabody Award, the NAPTE Iris Award, two national and 25 Northwest Regional Emmy Awards for her work, which has appeared on KOMO TV, The Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, among many others, and now on KCTS 9.

Prior to her current work with KCTS 9, Purchase was producer, writer and head of internationally acclaimed documentary programming for KOMO TV in Seattle. More recently, she has produced and written material for diverse clients such as Microsoft, National Geographic Channel and the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. She has also served as Development Director for the Pediatric Interim Care Center of Kent, Washington, raising more than $4 million in capital and operating funds for the nonprofit organization.

In addition to producing About The Money with Christine Chen, Purchase continues as a freelance writer and producer.

Enrique Cerna, Executive Producer

Enrique Cerna is the executive producer of About The Money and host, co-creator and executive producer of the weekly news/current affairs program The New KCTS 9 Connects. The original KCTS 9 Connects began airing in February, 2000, and features coverage of important issues, newsmakers, trends, and the arts. The New KCTS 9 Connects provides new stories, insights and perspectives that you won't see on other outlets.

Enrique Cerna joined KCTS 9 in January, 1995 and began contributing to the weekly public affairs program Friday. Since then, he has produced documentaries focusing on juvenile justice issues, Hard Times for Juvenile Justice, Ceasefire: Disarming Our Kids, and Behind The Walls. He was also the executive producer and host of the two hour KCTS 9 Special Uncertain Times: Understanding the Crisis, which examined the war in Afghanistan; Islam; the U-S war on terrorism; the Middle East conflict; America's image abroad; plus the concerns of youth in the wake of September 11th. The broadcast was honored by the Academy for Religious Broadcasting with the Global Theme Award and received a Northwest Emmy nomination.

Cerna has also produced and reported several half hour reports: Seattle to Morocco: Women, Politics and Islam; Reverend Samuel McKinney: 40 Years of Faith, Salmon…On The Brink, Remembering John Stanford. In addition, he has produced and reported stories for several national PBS specials, most recently, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer which featured his story Electing Women. The report examined the efforts of Moroccan women to increase their political voice in the moderate Islamic nation, an effort that received assistance from a group of Northwest women from the University of Washington's Center for Women and Democracy.

Cerna has worked in the Seattle broadcast market for more than 30 years. He began his broadcast career as a news reporter/anchor for KOMO Radio in 1975. Prior to joining KCTS 9, he worked for KOMO Television as a general assignment news reporter and KING Television as a producer, reporter, and program host.

Cerna has earned five Northwest region Emmy awards. The most recent was awarded in June, 2003 for his report on the Northwest Burn Foundation's summer camp for young burn survivors. In addition, he has been honored by the Pacific Mountain Network's Best of the West competition and the Central Education Network for the documentary Hard Times for Juvenile Justice. In September, 1999, Cerna was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Religious Broadcasting.

Cerna lives in the Ballard area of Seattle. He is the father of two children, Alicia and Antonio.