“When I was twelve, our family emigrated from Korea and landed in the suburbs of Chicago. As the oldest daughter, I became the translator for my parents and advocate for my family. Later, I organized immigrant women workers, who in sweatshops and electronics assembly lines faced similar conditions my mom had endured. Now, I am blessed to be able to work with leaders and organizations that are committed to base-building and transformative change.”

Helen is an organizational development consultant, leadership trainer and coach with twenty years of experience in working with social change organizations and leaders in the US and internationally.  She is a co-author of Working Across Generations: Defining the Future of Nonprofit Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2008) and has facilitated many regional, national, and international convenings on social justice movement building strategies and supporting the next generation of nonprofit leaders.

In addition to being a part of RoadMap, Helen is a team member of Building Movement Project, trainer and coach for Rockwood Leadership Institute, and the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund Flexible Leadership Investment Program.

Helen served as International Planning Committee member for Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) 2008 Forum in Cape Town, South Africa and was an advisory member of its Building Feminist Movements and Organizations Initiative. She also served as a trainer for Women’s Funding Network’s Voices on the Horizon and Bridge Builders Leadership Cohort and Women of Color Policy Network’s Lead the Way Fellowship.

Prior to her consultant work, Helen was an adjunct faculty at the San Francisco State University School of Social Work and worked as a community organizer for Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, where she focused on immigrant and worker rights and environmental justice issues. She emigrated from Korea when she was twelve years old and attended Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Law School. A 2009 Gerbode Fellow, Helen aspires to live and work with generosity of spirit and passion for justice.

Helen lives in Oakland, CA.