THE KOREA SOCIETY

Jeannie Park has been a leader and executive in the areas of media, non-profits, and advocacy for Asian American and other communities of color. She is focused on supporting collective philanthropy, such as KACF’s, as a driver of equity for those communities. Jeannie is a founding board co-chair of the Donors of Color Network, a cross-racial group seeking to advance racial justice. She was an executive editor of People magazine and In Style, spending 22+ years at those and other Time Inc. titles. She was founding president of the NY chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and helped lead their Executive Leadership Program for 20 years. She was president of the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, leading its growth from 200 to 7,000 members and co-launching its Global Summit, and co-founder of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, organizing DEIJ activism. She served on the boards of Third Street Music School Settlement, the country’s longest-running community music school, and Little Red Elisabeth Irwin school. She is a member of the Council of Korean Americans and the Asian American Advisory Board of the Schlesinger Library.

Sue Kim is the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, where she serves as chief fundraising strategist and leads a team that increases philanthropic and membership support for the museum’s innovative programming, exhibitions, and initiatives. She is responsible for helping to establish an historic permanent Korean gallery at PEM opening in 2025. Known for her dedication to community-building and for her ability to forge deep relationships, she has been a leader in the field of global philanthropy and nonprofit executive leadership for three decades.

Dr. Abraham Kim, Ph.D., is the President at the Council of Korean Americans (CKA). Dr. Kim drives CKA’s mission to develop more impactful global Korean American leaders through education and collaboration. In addition, he works diligently to strengthen the national Korean-American community to increase its voice and influence across the country.

Previously, Dr. Kim served as Executive Director at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center located on the campus of the University of Montana, where he oversaw 50 staff, faculty and affiliates. During Dr. Kim’s tenure, the Center became one of the foremost U.S.-Asia policy and leadership development institutes in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies region.

Prior to the Mansfield Center, Dr. Kim also served as the Vice President and Interim President of the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) in Washington, D.C. In addition, he also functioned as the research manager for government services and principal Asia analyst at the global political risk consulting firm, Eurasia Group. He was a project manager and strategic planner at the Science Application International Corporation (SAIC) and a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Dr. Kim is a graduate of Boston University and Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Emil J. Kang
Until recently, Emil directed the Arts and Culture program at The Mellon Foundation, the nation's largest funder of arts and humanities, where he led $125 million in annual grantmaking. He also serves as the Agnes Gund Visiting Professor of the Practice of Arts at Brown University.

A visionary arts leader, Kang founded Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005, building it into one of the nation's leading university-based performing arts programs. While at UNC, Kang served as Professor of the Practice and Special Assistant to the Chancellor for the Arets.

In 2012, President Barack Obama appointed Kang to the National Council on the Arts, making him the first Korean-American to serve in this capacity. In addition to his current service on the National Council, Kang also serves on the boards and committees of Silkroad (founded by Yo-Yo Ma) and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Previously, Kang held leadership positions with symphony orchestras across the country including as President and Executive Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra where he was the youngest and first Asian-American CEO of a major symphony orchestra in the nation