Welcome to NetKAL, Debbie Sheen!
Debbie Sheen has officially joined the Center for Asian Pacific Leadership as its Associate Director. With her experience in organizational management, direct advocacy and community organizing, we are excited to have Debbie on the NetKAL team.
Prior to joining CAPL, Debbie served as the Development and Communications Manager at the Korean Community Center of the East Bay and she also worked at the Asian Law Caucus, the nation’s oldest API civil rights organization, as a Housing and Community Development Fellow. To learn more about Debbie, please click Debbie Sheen’s Bio.
Check out our Newest Members!
Take a look at our newest members of the NetKAL family. Find NetKAL VI under the “Fellows” tab of the menu bar or simply click here.
- NetKAL VI Group Shot
Adrian Hong’s Input on North Korea & the Nuke Deal
This morning, Fellow Adrian Hong, Director of the Pegasus Project, appeared on Fox News to talk about the recent issues of North Korea and the nuke deal. Take a look at his remarks on how the “devil is in the details” by clicking on the link below:
“North Korea Puts Nuke Program On Ice”
Welcome NetKAL VI!
We would like to introduce you to another fantastic cohort of Network of Korean American Leaders (NetKAL) VI. Building upon the foundation of former classes, NetKAL continues to build its premier leadership network of civic-minded Korean American leaders.
26 outstanding individuals were selected to join this Fellowship after a rigorous selection process, which saw the most competitive field of applicants yet. The new Fellows work in diverse industries ranging from entertainment, technology, venture capital, law, non-profit, banking, government, real estate, etc.
The diversity of the Fellows’ backgrounds is matched by their geographic origins. Seven Fellows hail from the Bay Area previous NetKAL classes combined had a total of four Fellows; thirteen from Los Angeles, and at least one candidate from Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Houston.
Among the new class of Fellows, Eric Kim has produced and oversees CSI, the highest ranked show in TV drama, James Kyson, one of TV Guides “Hollywood’s 25 Hottest”, has recently finished “Hawaii Five-O” on CBS and a 4-year run on NBC’s “Heroes.” Grace Lee was the director of American Zombie and The Grace Lee Project; Caroline Choe has organized microfinance projects in Haiti; Linda Chong is Vice President of Dodge & Cox and is part of team that manages $75 billion of fixed income assets and $36 billion of international equity assets; and Patrick Chun and Patrick Chung are also involved in venture investment.
Each of the NetKAL VI Fellows have shown significant talent and sustained hard work to attain the leadership status they currently hold. More significantly, they each applied to the NetKAL Fellowship in order to leverage their individual success on behalf of enhancing the civic leadership network that is NetKAL to transform the Korean American community.
The NetKAL VI Fellowship Program will run from February to July of 2012 in Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA. As always, we greatly appreciate your interest and support of NetKAL and ask that you continue to advise and watch over the NetKAL Fellowship Program as it emerges as a leading platform for positive change.
2011 NetKAL Gala & Summit Video
Missed out on the exciting weekend of the 2011 NetKAL Gala & Summit? Well, thanks to the amazing work of Andrew Oh and Kollaboration Productions, you can now get a small taste of this memorable weekend!
Thank You, Kendra!
On Friday, February 3, 2012, Kendra Suh stepped down from her position as the Associate Director of the Center for Asian-Pacific Leadership (CAPL) at USC’s School of Social Work due to a career change. Thank you, Kendra, for all your hard work and dedication to the program. You will be greatly missed and we wish you the best of luck!
2011 NetKAL Summit & Gala: A Memorable Weekend
Photos by KOLLABORATION
The 2011 NetKAL Gala, held at the California Science Center, brought together 500 extraordinary leaders for a night of celebrations and networking. To include a quote from this USC article : David Eun, a NetKAL advisor and former president of AOL Media and Studios, recognized Asian-American pioneers in entertainment and media, many of whom were in attendance at the Gala, as a tribute to the progress they have made in the industry. “There’s a perception out there that Asian Americans and Korean Americans are invisible in the entertainment and media world,” Eun said. “In recent years, however, we have seen increasing numbers of Asian-American decision makers in entertainment and media business and on the screen. Even more exciting is that this seems to be happening at a faster rate, especially with the advent of new technology platforms.” Featured Chefs David Cho and Joanne Purnell of Good Gracious! treated guests with a taste of Korean cuisine through their fusion dishes and performers Kim Tae Woo, G.NA and David Choi showcased their music for the enjoyment of the audience as well. The Gala truly set the momentum for Saturday’s NetKAL Summit. NetKAL Fellows and Advisors did a wonderful job facilitating the various discussions throughout the day. Highlights from the Summit include: a keynote address with special video sneak preview by Miky Lee (Vice Chair, CJ Entertainment), a heated panel debate on diversity between Ken Mok and Warrington Hudlin, and keynote remarks from Byung-Kook Kim, President of the Korea Foundation. The Summit concluded with a Networking Dinner in Koreatown and an informal Sunday Gathering (led by NetKAL Advisor Tim Haahs). Details of the program can be found at www.netkalsummit.org .
Upcoming NetKAL Recruiting Events / Information Sessions
SAN FRANCISCO: Thursday, Nov 10th @ 6:30pm (Doors open 6:00pm)
Location: PG&E Headquarters. 245 Market Street, San Francisco (Conference Room A – on the ground floor)
Dinner will be served. RSVP by Tuesday, November 8th to kendra.suh@usc.edu . (RSVP required for building access)
PALO ALTO: Friday, Nov 11th @ 12:00pm
Location: Reed Smith, LLP. 1510 Page Mill Road. Suite 110. Palo Alto, CA 94304
Lunch will be served. RSVP by Tuesday, November 8th to kendra.suh@usc.edu .
Dress Attire: Business Casual
2011 NetKAL Newsletter
David Kim on “Undercover Boss”
The CBS hit show, “Undercover Boss,” allows CEOs and high ranking executives a chance to experience what goes on behind the scenes in a company’s daily operations. Our NetKAL Advisor, David Kim, CEO of Baja Fresh, was featured on the April 10th “Undercover Boss” episode.
While undercover, David took up different jobs to not only connect with his employees, but to also make sure customer service was at its best. These jobs included positions as General Manager, Cashier, Store Manager and Operations Manager.
David was not only our distinguished speaker at the University Club for the NetKAL IV cohort in New York on July 19, 2008, but he also attended two NetKAL Summits, staying connected with us for a long time. Now, he is the first Asian American CEO to feature on this program, serving as a role model for the Asian American community, hoping to disseminate the positive “can do spirit” to those who have economic difficulties.
David Kim shares:
“I hope you enjoyed the Baja Fresh episode of Undercover Boss. I greatly enjoyed working on the front line and learning more about our great company and the hard work that occurs daily. The Baja Fresh family rocks even more than I already knew and I saw our guests are very passionate about our food. I also learned that making a Burrito Ultimo is about as easy as cutting your own hair – I’m lousy at it!” (Baja Fresh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=loG9q5F27T0
