Formerly YKASEC
Who We Are
Staff
Ju-Bum Cha, Education and Communications Director
Ju Bum Cha is a 1st generation Korean American who came to the United States in 1992. He started volunteering at the MinKwon Center (formerly YKASEC) in 1994, and joined its fulltime staff in 2004 where he directed the Immigrant Rights Advocacy Program. Mr. Cha currently coordinates all of the media outreach efforts as well as overseeing internal communications and education. Prior to joining the MinKwon Center, Mr. Cha was working at a related organization, Young Koreans United – New York Chapter. Y.
Kathy Ji Hyun Chae, Social Services Director
Kathy Chae is a 1.5 generation, trilingual Korean American who grew up in Korea and Paraguay. Ms. Chae joined the MinKwon Center in 2004 as a Staff Attorney, and is currently the Director of Social Services as well as overseeing the immigration legal clinic.
Christina Chang, Advocacy and Organizing Associate
Christina Chang is a 2nd generation Korean American who grew up in Flushing. Before joining the MinKwon Center staff, Ms. Chang worked at the Manhattan Borough President’s office as the Korean Community Liaison, and worked with the Chief of Staff to provide services and communication support. As the Advocacy & Organizing Associate, Ms. Chang represents the MinKwon Center in coalitions and strengthen our various advocacy efforts.
Steven Choi, Executive Director
Steven Choi is the Executive Director of the MinKwon Center. A 2nd generation Korean American, Mr. Choi previously was a Program Director at the MinKwon Center and led the Korean Immigrant Workers Rights Project, which provided free direct legal services to low-wage Korean immigrants – the only such project of its kind on the East Coast. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Choi served as a Skadden Fellow and Staff Attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).
Jake Dong first came to the United States as a college student in 2006, and became involved with the MinKwon Center as an active volunteer in early 2010. Mr. Dong currently works with the MinKwon Center's Advocacy and Organizing Program as a Housing Organizer. He is active in educating and organizing Flushing community members around housing issues such as landlord-tenant concerns and foreclosures, and is a key participant of a multi-organizational coalition advocating for housing reform.
Sabrina Fong, Civic Participation Fellow (AmeriCorps Public Ally)
Sabrina Fong is a recent graduate of the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter. Having majored in Political Science and Asian American Studies, she hopes to combine these two passions to help better the lives of NYC's burgeoning immigrant community. Ms. Fong is joining the MinKwon Center as the Public Allies Community Outreach Fellow at the end of August 2011 to provide support on various civic education and outreach efforts.
Elisa Gahng, Foreclosure Legal Counselor
Elisa Gahng was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Elisa recently joined MinKwon Center as a Foreclosure Legal Counselor after graduating from law school, during which she helped advocate for immigration reform and human rights. Prior to law school, Elisa worked on social justice issues with communities of color in Oakland, California at the Women of Color Resource Center.
James Hong, Civic Participation Coordinator
A 2nd generation Korean American from Miami, Florida, James Hong joined the MinKwon Center in 2010. Mr. Hong oversees the MinKwon Center’s Civic Participation Program, which seeks to empower the community through the electoral process by organizing voter registration, research, education, and mobilization efforts. He was most recently a Senior Research Analyst at Market Dynamics Research Group, Synovate USA and Synovate Korea.
Sujin Jung graduated with a B.S. degree with a major in Food Science and Technology. She came to the U.S. as a Korea WEST Program intern in 2011. She works with Community Organizing and Advocacy programs, helping the community organizers with assessing the needs of community members and weekly street outreach.
Kevin Kang is a 2nd generation Korean American born and raised in Flushing, Queens. Mr. Kang initially became involved with youth education and organizing at the MinKwon Center as a member of the 2003 Summer Youth Empowerment Project. In 2007, he joined the MinKwon Center as the Youth Coordinator, and then served as a Youth Organizer to educate, organize, and mobilize youth on crucial immigration, Asian American, and Flushing-related issues. Kevin now serves as Program Associate to provide support for programming and fulfill administrative duties
Hana Kim is MinKwon Center’s Staff Attorney for the Immigrant Rights Clinic in the area of housing law. She was born and raised in Jeju, South Korea. Upon finishing her undergraduate education at Handong Global University, she came to New York to attend law school in 2006. Hana interned at the MinKwon Center in 2009 as a Legal Intern and Legal Fellow for the housing and labor legal clinics. After graduating from law school, Hana worked at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations as a legal officer, and then joined the MinKwon staff in the fall of 2011.
Yoon Ji Kim, Financial Empowerment Counselor
Yoon Ji Kim is a 2nd generation Korean American who first became involved with the MinKwon Center by volunteering with the Advocacy and Organizing Program in 2009. In 2010, she joined the MinKwon Center as a Program Associate, providing social services to community members as well as performing administrative duties.
Young Sook Na, Administrative Director
Young Sook Na is a 1.5 generation Korean American who first came to the MinKwon Center in 1997 as a participant in the Summer Youth Empowerment Program. She became an active volunteer and joined the MinKwon Center in 2003, where she oversaw the Civic Participation Program and Low-Income Tax Clinic. She currently oversees organizational finances, office operations, and administrative duties.
Jenna Ness, Development Coordinator
Jenna Ness was born in South Korea and adopted to the U.S. at an early age. Ms. Ness joined the MinKwon Center as a Development Associate in 2009, where she coordinates fundraising and financial matters. Prior to joining the MinKwon Center, Ms. Ness served as a community organizer and Public Ally at the Pratt Area Community Council in Brooklyn and the Tri-City People’s Corporation.
Catherine Park, Development & Communications AmeriCorps VISTA
Catherine Park is a 1.5 generation Korean American who moved from Pennsylvania to join the MinKwon Center as AmeriCorps VISTA in 2011. She is responsible for working on fundraising efforts, developing and implementing communication and social networking strategies, as well as coordinating the internship/volunteer program infrastructure.
Emily Park, Youth Program Associate
Emily Park is 1.5 generation Korean American who became involved with MinKwon Center through DREAM Act activism and internship at the New York Immigration Coalition for the summer, 2011. She joined MinKwon Center in January, 2012 as a youth program associate. She hopes to educate and empower youth by working together on issues regarding Asian American, immigration and human rights to education.
Jae Sup Song, Community Organizer
Jae Sup Song came to the United States in 2005 as a student. Upon graduation, he started working at the New York Immigration Coalition as a housing intern while volunteering at the MinKwon Center. In 2009, he became a fulltime community organizer as a Center for Neighborhood Leadership Organizing Apprentice, actively recruiting community members and organizing weekly street outreaches and meetings around important community issues.
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Formerly YKASEC