The daughter of Filipino immigrant healthcare providers, Mia's parents instilled in her a sense of public service by routinely providing free healthcare to at-need community members. She graduated with a theater degree and spent several years acting in Chicago, and like many artists, supplemented her acting as a legal secretary, waiter, professional organizer, and doing promotional work.

Mia moved to Los Angeles in 1999 as an actor and again supplemented her acting career with as many as 5 jobs at once just to make ends meet. Mia went on to earn her Masters in Interior Architecture at UCLA. During her studies, Mia became a new mom and graduated 8 months pregnant with her second child.

After earning her degree, Mia stayed home with her two kids due to a lack of affordable childcare. Five years later, Mia got involved as a full-time volunteer to raise money for arts and PE programs at her son's Title I school. She became a full-time activist in 2016, working to elect progressive champions up and down the ballot. In 2019, she served as a Parent-Teacher Liaison in support of the 2019 UTLA Strike.

Mia is a survivor of gun violence and has been heavily involved with Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. She served as the California State Survivor Events Lead and an Everytown for Gun Safety Survivor Fellow National Spokesperson. In these roles, she helped plan survivor support events across the state, designed mental health programs at the State level, and spoke before Congress and before the State Legislature in Sacramento.