________________________________________________________________
 
January 28, 2015
________________________________________________________________

 
It is my pleasure to announce that last week, CKA's new board of directors elected John Lim to succeed me as Chair.

Having served as Chair of the Board since June of 2013, I am excited about John, as well as this year's new board officers and new directors.

Board service, as many of you know, is hard work, especially when you are starting something new. 

Please join me in wishing them well, and also in thanking those members who are stepping off the board, for helping us build a new voice for our community.

As always, thank you for your support.


 
Catharina Min, CKA Board Chair (2013-2014), Board Member (2011-Present)

Meet CKA's Board Officers

John Lim
Managing Partner, Lim, Ruger & Kim | Los Angeles, CA

Board Chair, Council of Korean Americans
Board Member (2013-Present)

John Lim is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Lim, Ruger & Kim, LLP, a leading minority-owned corporate boutique firm with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a corporate lawyer since 1982, John has represented clients including Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies, financial institutions, governmental entities, private equity funds, commercial developers and institutional investors in all facets of corporate, real estate and financing transactions...
June Lee
Director, Early Translational Research
UCSF Department of Medicine | San Francisco, CA

Vice Chair, Council of Korean Americans
Board Member (2013-Present)

June Lee, MD, FACCP, is the Director of Early Translational Research at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and an Associate Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Medicine at UCSF. In her new role as the Director of Early Translational Research, she is charged to facilitate and cultivate the early phase translational research at UCSF...
Michael Keyoung
Managing Director, Portola Capital Partners | San Francisco, CA

Treasurer, Council of Korean Americans

H. Michael Keyoung, MD, PhD is Managing Partner of Portola Capital Partners, a healthcare-dedicated investment firm which advises and invests in healthcare companies globally. Dr. Keyoung is also President of Catalyst Biosciences Asia, a clinical stage biotech company partnered with Pfizer on its lead drug and is backed by leading healthcare venture capital firms such as Essex Woodlands, Sofinnova, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp and Mirae Asset Group of Korea...
Jeong-Hwa Lee Towery
Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough | Atlanta, GA

Secretary, Council of Korean Americans

Jeong-Hwa Lee "June" Towery is a partner at Nelson Mullin in the areas of corporate law, foreign investment, immigration and international law. She is a member of the Alabama State Bar, the State Bar of Georgia and the Tennessee Bar. Ms. Towery has extensive experience with international companies and individuals investing in the United States...

Meet CKA's Board of Directors

Bill Kim
Chairman & CEO, Kizan International | San Francisco, CA

In 1972, Mr. Kim founded Kizan International in a tiny little office in South San Francisco. Today, the company has grown to one of the largest men's dress slacks companies in the US...
READ MORE
Bonnie Oh
Distinguished Professor of Korean Studies (Retired)
Georgetown University | Chicago, IL

Born and raised in South Korea, Professor Oh came to the United States to pursue higher education. She earned her B.A. in American colonial history from Barnard College... 
Catharina Min
Vice Chair and Partner, Reed Smith | San Francisco, CA
CKA Board Chair (2013-2014), Board Member (2011-Present)

Catharina is Reed Smith's Vice Chair of the Business and Finance Department and a partner specializing in cross border M&A and venture capital transactions. She practices corporate and securities law with an emphasis in representing both U.S. and international clients... 
Esther Lee
Former Global Chief Marketing and New Business Officer
Burson-Marsteller | Washington, DC
CKA Vice Chair (2013-2014), Board Member (2011-Present)

Esther Lee is Co-Founder and Vice Chair (2013-2014) of the Council of Korean Americans. She was Global Chief Marketing and New Business Officer at Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm...
Grant Kim
Counsel, Morrison & Foerster | San Francisco, CA

Grant Kim is a trial lawyer with Morrison & Foerster LLP. He has successfully represented clients in international arbitration, intellectual property litigation, and other high-stakes commercial disputes...
Hyun Park
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
PG&E Corporation | San Francisco, CA
CKA Board Member (2012-Present)

Hyun Park, with over two decades in the legal sector, is senior vice president and general counsel for PG&E Corporation and its businesses, including its principal subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company...
Jae Ku
Director
U.S.-Korea Institute, Johns Hopkins University | Washington, DC

Jae H. Ku is the Director of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Before joining the US-Korea Institute, he was the Director of Human Rights in North Korea Project at Freedom House...
James Min
Vice President, DHL Legal Department | Ohio

T. James Min II is currently the Vice President  and Global Head of  International Trade Law for the Deutsche Post-DHL corporate group where he counsels DHL business units on all aspects of critical international trade and business law matters...
Kenneth Kim
Founder and CEO, WCCT Global LLC | Orange County, CA

Dr. Kenneth Kim, a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, received his MD from Harvard Medical School. Following a fellowship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, he completed his internal medicine and allergy/immunology training at UCLA...
Leezie Kim
General Counsel, Fox Restaurant Concepts | Phoenix, AZ
Board Member (2012-Present)

Leezie Kim recently returned to private practice in Phoenix, Arizona as an attorney after two and a half years living in Washington DC as a White House appointee as Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security...

Sam Yoon
President, Council of Korean Americans | Washington, DC
CKA Board Member (2011-Present)

Before taking on the role of President of CKA in September 2012, Sam worked in the Obama Administration at the Department of Labor as a Senior Policy Advisor. He reported to the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, the largest agency at the Labor Department...
Steven Yang
Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
New York University School of Medicine | New York, NY

Dr. S. Steven Yang, MD, MPH is a Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at New York University School of Medicine and serves on the staff of NYU Langone Medical Center and the Hospital for Joint Diseases... 
Yul Kwon
Head of Privacy Program, Facebook | San Francisco, CA
Board Member (2011-Present)

Yul has enjoyed a diverse career across technology, business, law, public policy, and media. His work on television includes hosting America Revealed on PBS, anchoring LinkAsia on KCETLink, working as a special correspondent for CNN, and becoming the first Asian American to win the CBS reality show, Survivor...

With Thanks To CKA's Outgoing Board Members

Christina Yoon
Senior Consultant, Campbell & Company | Washington, DC
Board Member (2013-2014)

Christina Yoon is a Senior Consultant with Campbell & Company, a highly-regarded national consulting firm that specializes in fundraising and development for larger institutional nonprofits. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, but Christina works out of their DC office...
Hoon Cho
Managing Director, GI Partners | San Francisco, CA
Board Member (2011-2014)

Hoon Cho is a Managing Director at GI Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Menlo Park, CA. He currently leads GI's investment efforts in the financial services and energy sectors while co-heading the firm's healthcare activities...
Hyepin Im
President and CEO, Korean Churches for Community Development | Los Angeles, CA
Board Member (2012-2014)

Ms. Hyepin Im is a U.S. Presidential Appointee to the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. She is the President and Founder of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD)...
Philip Yun
Executive Director, Ploughshares Fund | San Francisco, CA
Board Member (2012-2014)

With his broad working experience in academia, business, nonprofits and government, Philip Yun is known for his expertise in Asia-related political and security issues. Mr. Yun currently serves as Executive Director of Ploughshares Fund, overseeing the organization's operations, financial management, fundraising and grantmaking...
 ___________________________________________________________________
CKA is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of Korean American leaders. 
Our mission is to assert a strong, clear voice on issues of critical importance to Korean Americans and to support their full participation in all aspects of American life.