Dear Distinguished CKA Members and Friends,
I hope you are having a great start to 2024. I am pleased to present 12 outstanding individuals who have recently become part of the Council of Korean Americans.
This Winter 2023 membership group comprises exceptional individuals, each bringing their own distinct skills and expertise to the table. With backgrounds in fields such as film, software technology, and energy, these new members have already made significant contributions through their innovative work.
As we warmly embrace them in our expanding CKA community, we eagerly look forward to their active participation in upcoming programs. Their valuable insights and experiences will undoubtedly enrich our collective knowledge and empower us to continue on the path to success.
Congratulations to our new members, and heartfelt appreciation to our current CKA members for their unwavering support.
Warm Regards,
Abraham Kim, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Council of Korean Americans
INTRODUCING OUR NEW CKA MEMBERS
If you are interested in becoming a CKA Member, please submit your member application here. CKA’s Membership Committee reviews these applications every quarter.
Susan Go
Senior Director, Solution Engineering
Salesforce
Susan Go is Senior Director of Solution Engineering at Salesforce, the #1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform. With over 20 years of experience in enterprise software sales she helps government agencies innovate faster and transform mission delivery to better meet the demands of constituents with user-centered technology.
Sylvia Han
Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Sylvia S. Han, CFA, CFP, CSRIC is a Vice President at Merrill, where as a Wealth Management Advisor she provides customized planning and investment advice and service to individual clients and their families to support their pursuit of retirement, family, philanthropic, or business goals. Using experience gained as an institutional portfolio manager/analyst at Wellington Management Company and Bain Capital, she understands the importance of portfolio risk control and being responsive to opportunities in the market.
Emil Kang
Program Director, Arts & Culture
Mellon Foundation
Emil J. Kang is the program director for Arts and Culture at the Mellon Foundation, where he leads the grantmaking program nurturing exceptional creative accomplishment, scholarship, and conservation practices while advancing a diverse and sustainable ecosystem for the arts.
Charles Kim
Co-Founder
Third State Books; Asian American Book Club
Charles Kim has spent three decades moving forward the principles of authentic representation, equity, and narrative change in publishing. He previously served as Senior Editorial Agent at Serendipity Literary, the largest agency in the U.S. specializing in writers of color. He also served as Associate Publisher at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he oversaw the publication of over forty titles per year and established an award-winning, best-selling line of children’s books.
Jaekwan Solomon Kim
Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor, Portfolio Management Director, & Insurance Planning Director
Morgan Stanley
Solomon Kim is a Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor, Portfolio Management Director, and Insurance Planning Director with Morgan Stanley. Solomon joined Morgan Stanley in 2013. He graduated with a B.A.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Sanghyun Alexander Kim
Division Chief, Colon and Rectal Surgery
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital
Sanghyun is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Site Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Downtown-Union Square, and Mount Sinai Morningside.
Sandra Lee
President/CEO
ES Advertising
Sandra is the President and CEO of ES Advertising, a Los Angeles-based full-service advertising agency specializing in multicultural markets. ES Advertising was recognized as one of the Top 50 Marketing Agencies in the nation by Agency Spotter in 2020.
Ed Park
Author
Same Bed Different Dreams
Ed Park is the author of the novels Personal Days and Same Bed Different Dreams. He is a founding editor of The Believer, and has worked in newspapers, book publishing, and academia. His writing appears in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Born in Buffalo, he lives in Manhattan with his family.
Stephen Y. Park
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley
With 25 years of experience, Stephen leads The Stephen Y. Park Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. As a Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor, he has client relationships with Ultra-High Net Worth individuals, founders/business owners, family offices, and executives.
James Rhee
Owner & Author
red helicopter
James Rhee is an acclaimed impact investor, founder, CEO, and educator. James’ leadership story grabbed global attention during his unlikely seven-year tenure as Chairman and first-time CEO at Ashley Stewart, a fashion retailer with deep historical roots in the Black American community. Leaving his career in private equity, James assumed leadership of the bankrupt Ashley Stewart in 2013 and reinvented the company through the creation of a reimagined ecosystem that blurred boundaries and centered “Kindness and Math”.
Louis Song
Co-Founder & CEO
Proven Recruiting
Louis earned a degree in psychology from American University and has been primarily involved in headhunting over the last 30 years. Currently, Louis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Proven Recruiting which is celebrating its sweet 16, with more than 200 employees and locations in San Diego, Hollywood, Dallas, and Austin.
Jinyoung Lee
Founder & Film Director
Now Production Films
Jinyoung Lee, an award-winning journalist-turned-filmmaker, has been on a creative journey since relocating to Hawaii from Seoul, Korea in 2005. Seamlessly transitioning from journalism to cinema, she leverages her extensive background in Korean media.