KKOOM Announces Leadership Transition, Effective July 31, 2025
KKOOM is proud to share that Executive Director Grace Lee earned her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Georgia State University and will begin her counseling career this summer. Grace will remain the Executive Director of KKOOM through July 31, 2025, and will then become an Honorary Board Member, staying active to help equal the playing field for children living in Korea’s social welfare system. Beginning on August 1, 2025, Leah Garlock, a former Board member and current head of KKOOM’s Girls’ Empowerment and Mentoring “GEM” Program, will serve as interim Executive Director.
Grace obtained a Public Policy degree, with a concentration in Nonprofit Leadership, from Georgia State University. She first volunteered with KKOOM in 2015 when she was a Fulbright English Teacher in Sejong, South Korea. After volunteering at the annual Samsungwon Christmas party, she became a Board member in 2016, the Chief Administrator from 2017- 2020, and the organization’s first Executive Director in 2020.
For the past eight years as Chief Administrator and Executive Director, Grace helped raise over $1.1 million, enabling KKOOM to provide hundreds of children with positive experiences and access to educational opportunities, so they can chase their dreams. Grace also led donor relations, marketing, and on-the-ground programming in Korea from holiday parties to summer camps. Grace was also instrumental in hosting KKOOM’s first U.S. in-person fundraiser event, the Dream Big Gala, to bring awareness to the greater Korean community in Atlanta, Georgia. Last year, Grace and Leah partnered to launch the GEM Program to provide outcome-driven programs to meet youth development needs for at-risk girls, so they can flourish and thrive.
Grace has a true passion for KKOOM’s mission and to ensure that every single child and young adult that KKOOM serves is worthy of love, dignity, and respect. We thank Grace for her dedication to improving the lives of Korean youth, and we wish her the best as she pursues a counseling career. The Board and Leah remain committed to the mission of KKOOM in uplifting the children we serve during this time of transition.
Feel free to contact Helen Shin, Board Chair, with any questions at info@kkoom.org.
KKOOM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in September 2007. KKOOM’s mission is to improve the lives of Korean youth through outreach and education.
