Our Mission

Our Mission
Our mission is to empower immigrants in the Bay Area through access to education, services, resources and advocacy. We are a bridge helping individuals get needed resources at critical moments in their lives.
Our Vision

Our Vision
Our vision is a world where immigrants and refugees thrive in an inclusive and equitable society and everyone has access to basic health care, housing, work and can be part of a safe, healthy and thriving community.
Our History
Team
June Lee
As an immigrant and mother of a teenage daughter, June is passionate about women’s empowerment issues. “I make the world a more wholesome place by helping disempowered people to realize their power and become active participants in our society.”
Una Chen, MFT
Una has an MFT from Drexel University and a B.A. in Journalism from Shih Hsin University in Taiwan. As an immigrant from Taiwan, she deeply understands the challenges of immigrants in navigating unfamiliar systems and coping with mental, financial, and emotional struggles during the transition. Una loves working out after a full day of stress and, for Una, “NO Boba, NO life!”
Jeehee Moon, AMFT
As an international student herself, she understands the challenges of living in an unfamiliar culture and the difficulties of having a language barrier. Jeehee values working as a team with her client. The therapist-client relationship comes before the theoretical approach for her. To build the relationship, she treats her clients with empathy, genuineness, respect, and non-judgmental regard.
Esther Lee
As an immigrant herself, Esther has a genuine heart for the immigrant community. It is her passion to bridge the cultural gap between her clients and society so that they can feel accepted and make their voices heard. Esther is a foodie and loves exploring local cafes and restaurants. Ddeokboki and K-food are very important elements of her life.
Hye-Yun Graves
Hye-Yun developed a strong sense of devotion to make a community in a healthier and better way while working in another community center. Her experience gave her a deep appreciation for an organization like KCCEB for how to bring positive changes into the community with passion and effort. In her spare time, she loves taking a walk and watching movies.
Jorim Rhee
As a queer Korean of U.S. diaspora, Jorim especially appreciates KCCEB’s dedication to expanding mental health and wellness resources, and building connections in the community.
Sarah Park
Art Choi
Jisoo Kim
Jisoo received her B.S. in nutritional science dietetics from UC Berkeley and loves talking about food and nutrition as a form of preventative medicine. She has experience in patient interaction and practice in nutrition education and counseling. When Jisoo is not working, she loves to watch Netflix, solo travel, discovering new cafes and restaurants on Yelp, reading, and doing puzzles.
Amy G. Lam, MA, PhD
Amy is also an energy healer and a published poet, playwright, and composer. Amy’s mantra is: “Let’s dream the world we want to see into being.”
Pysay Phinith, LCSW
Pysay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and holds an MSW from UC Berkeley. She has over 12 years of depth and experience in community-based prevention, early intervention, clinical case management, and mental health treatment services for Asian and Pacific Islanders and the greater communities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Pysay loves running for self-care, “Running is my high! Running is my freedom!”
Yeri Shon, MPH, MSW
Yeri completed her MPH/MSW from the University of Michigan and has a BS in Chemistry from UC Berkeley. Coming from a struggling immigrant family and with over nine years working at non-profit organizations, Yeri developed insights into how systemic barriers cause social inequities leading to negative health outcomes. During her free time, she enjoys reading, exploring diverse eateries around the Bay Area, and being a die-hard Warriors fan when the basketball season starts.
Christina Yu, LCSW
Christina was born and raised in Oakland by a family who immigrated from Toisan, China. In her spare time, she enjoys visual arts, cooking challenges with her friends, exploring the food scene in the Bay Area, hikes amongst the redwoods, bathing in the sound of the ocean, and tending to her plants.
Yu Seoun Lhim, JD, MSW
Donna Jung
Donna enjoys learning and practicing Taichi, especially the sword sets. This is the time when she is able to feel rejuvenated and manage stress and pain better. She also enjoys reading about Asian American history and novels about the Asian American experience.
Catt Olazabal
Seokjune Hong
As a first-generation immigrant, he is keenly aware of the need to provide helpful information to all newcomers. He hopes that by volunteering, KCCEB staff have one less hurdle to deal with in their jobs.
MHAP Program Interns
KCCEB’s Mental Health Asian Pipeline (MHAP) Program provides comprehensive community mental health service training with attention to culturally informed practices, advocacy, and innovation.
MHAP’s goal is to increase the number of mental health social workers in the U.S. with specialized experience with Koreans and other Asian immigrants.
We currently have six MSW Graduate Trainees in the Adult Mental Health and Community Mental Health concentrations.
First Year Trainees
- Lydia Kim (English and Korean)
University California of Berkeley (UCB) - Ellen Suh (English and Korean)
University of Southern California (USC) - Jiaying Sophie Yang (English and Mandarin and Cantonese)
University of Southern California (USC)
Second Year Trainees
- Krystal Anne Fermin (English and Tagalog)
California State University of the East Bay (CSUEB) - Ruiqi He (English and Mandarin)
University of Southern California (USC) - Sonnara Sen (English and Khmer)
California State University of the East Bay (CSUEB)
Board of Directors
The volunteer board of directors at KCCEB is responsible for long-term strategic and programmatic planning, financial oversight and investments, fundraising, and general governance.
Dong Suh is the Chief Deputy of Administration at Asian Health Services. At AHS, he coordinates policy, planning, development, advocacy programs, and issues that affect its patients.
Jennifer Choo is the Associate Director, China Program, at Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. Prior to this position, she served as the Director of Programs at Asia Society Northern California in San Francisco.
YoonSun brings a deep understanding of Korean immigrants' lives earned from serving as a Social Work Specialist and Case Manager at Kimochi to KCCEB leadership. Her passion is in healing disenfranchised populations through music.