What’s New
KYCC, Wilshire Park Elementary School Build Native Habitat Garden
The Wilshire Park Elementary School Native Habitat Garden held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 23 to celebrate the completion of a campus beautification project, which converted an asphalt playground into an outdoor learning environment.
KYCC Receives $180,000 from CBB Bank Foundation for Middle School Program
In an exciting new partnership with the CBB Bank Foundation, KYCC is launching a new, free, year-round middle school education program for Koreatown’s English-Language Learners. Currently, there are very few quality, after-school options for students struggling to learn English but CBB will help KYCC provide one through a $180,000 grant given over three years.
Over 250 Volunteers at KYCC’s Annual Koreatown Community Cleanup
On May 20, KYCC held its Third Annual Koreatown Community Cleanup to beautify the streets of Koreatown’s neighborhoods. Over 250 volunteers—community members, KYCC program participants and staff, and youth—assembled at John Liechty Middle School in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Interested in more KYCC news? Check out the News and Events Page.
New Hires
Jenni Kuida
Admin – Grant Manager
Jenni Kuida comes to KYCC from Little Tokyo Service Center where she worked as Director of Children & Family Services for the past 11 years. Prior to that she worked as the Managing Director of Great Leap, a multicultural performing arts organization. Jenni lives in Culver City with husband Tony Osumi and 12 year old daughter Maiya. An activist in the API community for 25 years, she is also on the Boards of Japanese American Community Services, Venice Youth Council as a basketball commissioner, and active with the Culver City Walk and Rollers. She was co-author of “101 Ways to Tell if You’re Japanese American” and “101 Ways JAs Can Be Greener.”
Eric Ji
Clinical – KISM Program Coordinator
Before Eric joined KYCC, he worked in many different organizational settings in both corporate and non-profit. Eric received his Master’s in International Management from Yonsei University and his Bachelor’s in Advertising from Michigan State University. Prior to his career in social work, he worked about four years in the business settings, where he gained his experiences in marketing and coordination.
During his Ph.D. program in Social Welfare at Kangnam University, he focused on the application of the marketing notions to the social work sector, and worked on numerous government funded research projects for the improvement and making differences in communities. In addition to that, he worked in the non-profit organization serving children and adolescents with developmental disabilities.
Eric is passionate about giving people hope by helping those in needs and making differences in communities, which fulfills values in his life. In his free time, he enjoys playing and watching basketball,discovering new music, watching movies along with critic’s comments, editing personal videos, and traveling local and the world – this photo of his was taken in San Francisco in May this year!
Peer Recognition
Seung On Yoon
Admin
I am borderline appalled at the amount of work Ms. Yoon has to deal with and the piercing accuracy she has. It is truly unbelievable. I would never, ever, ever in billion years be able to do what she does, with that level of consistency. The thoroughness of Ms. Yoon and the consistency– we can sometimes take this for granted. She makes sure all the charges are accurate, she ensures our timesheets are perfect, and she makes sure everything and everyone is paid. I can ALWAYS count on her. Because of her, I can focus on serving the community. I don’t know what else is a privilege. Thank you Ms. Yoon for all that you do, and I am not ENTIRELY scared of you! just a little bit of healthy fear makes the world go around.
-Mihae Jung
Will Levegood
Environmental Services
I wanted to show my appreciation to Will because he is a “rock star”, with very little notice Will was able to help me coordinate a community clean-up at one of our schools. We had initially begun conversation about this project months in advanced but due to busy schedules, I neglected to follow up with him. I reached out to Will expressing that the parent group wanted to proceed with the original date, he said “… Not a problem” and assured me the tools and supplies will be available on the day of the event. He was also very helpful to guide me in other areas such as requesting support from our city council’s office. The day of the event, rain and all he showed up with tools as promised and helped families at Vista Charter Middle School clean their community. Will was a huge help to make this event happened and minimized stress and work for me, without him the event could not have run as smooth as it did. Thank you for your help budd!
-Marianet Tirado
Moon Park
Admin
I am grateful for Moon Park at KOA. She is warm and extremely capable and really nice to have around in the mornings. I have worked with Moon on several different Clinical communications projects. She is an excellent all-around communicator and extremely professional. She also does a bang up job on flyers—they’re always perfectly formatted! I see her greeting clients and answering the phone, and I hope she’ll stay with us for awhile.
-Katherine Kim
Jessica Figeuroa
Youth Services
I value honesty and this person exudes it. Especially working with youth it takes a special person to be able to connect, listen and build a bridge with clients. I appreciate her leadership, initiative in sharing her point of view and the clarity in her voice. She has handled both moments of joy and of deep challenges always keeping in mind the needs of the GRYD youth she works with. I am so proud of her and am filled with joy as she goes onto her next adventure: Graduate School. Thank you Ms.Jessica Figueroa for being a part of the Menlo and KYCC family. We will surely miss you. Know you have my deep respect and friendship.
-Maribel Amaya
G Blades
Admin
It is with great pleasure to nominate Ms. G Blades for consideration of KYCC’s Peer Nomination Award in recognition of her effort to support hundreds of low-income families claim their much needed refund dollars. KYCC’s volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA) program is successful because of the sacrifice and contributions of volunteers like Ms. G.
Ms. G’s contributions are distinct. After her normal workday (which includes 2+ hours in traffic and 10 hours in the office) she would volunteer to prepare tax returns. Additionally, Ms. G would interrupt her own work to jump in and help out the VITA program. Ms. G would travel to other VITA sites that were short-staffed and share her talents with clients in need – an incredibly selfless act by any means.
While her commitment is recognized, I’d like to also compliment her caring style of communication when assisting clients. Often, clients are confused and overwhelmed when it comes to tax preparation. Ms. G was patient and polite – her clients always felt at ease. Her preparedness and confidence with clients is something we can all learn from.
It is with no hesitation that I nominate Ms. G. She is an example to the entire team and her tremendous efforts must be acknowledged.
-Audrey Casillas
Miguel Lopez
Admin
Even though Miguel has been harassing me for some time about giving him a peer recognition, I have to admit this is long overdue. If you look at the Wilton and Menlo maintenance lists, much of the work that needs to be done comes from me, and I’m always nagging Miguel about fixing this and that. Despite this, he’s always patient with me and my demands and sees my projects through to the end. Over the years at Wilton so many people have come and gone but Miguel has always been the consistent presence there, keeping things going, making people laugh, and supporting our programs and families through his hard work. I can’t imagine a KYCC without Miguel, so thank you for being you and putting up with all my nagging.
-Ernie Yoshikawa
Luke Park
Prevention
Luke is just… Luke. He offers to help out whenever he can. Our elementary school kids love Luke Teacher! That really says something about him. He doesn’t even work with them directly, and yet they still love him!
Luke, I appreciate all of your pick up help and your willingness to get to know our little ones better. Thank you!”
-Heather Jun
Mr Andy Kim
CED
Mr. Kim brings such a positive and vibrant energy to our Wilton site! He is always so cheerful and making people laugh. I am always happy to see Mr. Kim in the morning and greet him in Korean. He is also an EXPERT on being a store owner. Thank you Mr. Kim for giving us very detailed and exact feedback when we review our liquor store outreach material with you. Your experiences as a former business owner are a great tool in fine-tuning how we outreach to liquor store owners. Thank you for all you do for Wilton!
-Luke Park
Maribel Amaya
Prevention
Even though Maribel and I are part of the same unit, our work is completely separate and we rarely see each other due to being housed at different sites. However, every time I see Maribel she makes a great effort to say hi and ask me how I’m doing. Every time I speak with Maribel she demonstrates genuine interest on what is going on with my work and life and she never fails to remind me, “take care of you girl”. She is very sweet and thoughtful; her smile and positive energy is contagious. Thank you Maribel, for being such warm ray of sunshine.
-Marianet Tirado
Employee Spotlight
Alice Kim
CED, Economic Development Specialist
Alice Kim
Economic Development Specialist, CED
Please Tell Me About Yourself?
Born in Korea, came here when I was eight, grew up in the OC, went to college out-of-state, started working at KYCC December 2015, so it’s been 1 ½ years. This year was my first year as the VITA Site Coordinator for the KYCC site.
Are there any nicknames for you?
I have a family nickname. My full name is Kim Heewon. Eversince I was little, I couldn’t say my name, so they called me “Heenie”. I also had another name growing up, “Kim Hee” kind of like Kimmie. My sister is Kim AeWon, so they called her, “Kim Ae”.
Can you share with us something most people don’t know about you?
People probably don’t know that I did martial arts. I did Kendo since middle school to high school, about six years. I have a black belt that I no longer practice. As long as I have like a wooden stick or sword, I can probably defend myself. But if I don’t have it, I’m defenseless like everybody else. They probably also don’t know that I have more non-Korean friends than Korean ones. I grew up in the OC, and went to a Catholic school so I wasn’t really exposed to a lot of Koreans. I grew up in a very Korean neighborhood, but I don’t have that any friends in my hometown, so it’s kind of ironic. My catholic school was very diverse – white, Latinas, Filipinos, Vietnamese, and few Koreans.
What do you do in your free time?
In my free time I like to stay active, try to go running at Echo Park Lake, yoga, hiking. Now starting to get into tennis. Also, staying at home and not doing anything. I like to be active, I don’t really like to stay home. I try to go to the weekly hike at Griffith Park to the merry-go-around. We do night hikes on Tuesdays, and you need to bring a flash light. It’s a great view of LA, and it’s not as crowded because it’s night time. It’s a VITA thing.
What do you love the most about your job, and what is the most challenging?
What I love most about working at KYCC is dealing with direct services. I really like it even though it is also the most challenging part. I learned a lot, and I still have a lot to learn about how to deal with difficult situations and clients, and also how to be more accommodating. Dealing with people even though I’m introverted, and like a social introvert, is pretty enjoying and rewarding.
What inspires you to do the work you do?
What inspires me is probably seeing the need of the work because I grew up not seeing resources for the population that we serve. So I understand how necessary these resources are, because I don’t believe in my area, we had something like this. I had no idea they existed until maybe when I went off to college. The need for resources and services is completely there, and I like working in the public sector a lot. A lot of our clients don’t really have anywhere else to go, and this may be their last stop.
I don’t mind doing work out of scope of my work, because I know that a lot of our clients go from place to place, and KYCC might be their last resort. It is out of scope, but it is not something that I can’t handle. I try to do as much as possible.
What is the most memorable moment during VITA season?
Probably the last tax day. It was bittersweet. After our last client left, we closed the doors in the office and the kitchen and we were all chatting and eating. I could tell people were sad that it was the last day and that we won’t be seeing each other for twice a week anymore. We’ve seen each other for 3-4 months, so we get really close. Some people told me that they almost cried the last day, and I got pretty sad too. There’s some volunteers that come every year, and they come only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it was the last Thursday. I could tell that they didn’t want to leave. We were there until 9, and we were still chatting. This year, a lot of people who came last year for the first time, really opened up, which was very surprising to see on my part. I remember last year they would just come, volunteer, do their work and not really socialize and leave right away. Those volunteers opened up and shared about themselves, bring food for other volunteers. Engaging with the volunteers has been rewarding, and I’m really good friends with a lot of them too. People were pretty emotional this year. That was a pretty sad day.
What is your fondest memory to date at your time at KYCC?
I like the all staffs. I really like going to all staffs and it’s just grounding to see all the other staffs in different units and get to know them. We get a Friday off to bond, and it’s like a family experience. All staffs are one of my favorite memories, and I’m sad to be missing this Summer All Staff. VITA too. VITA is one of my fondest memories.
Where do you imagine yourself to be 10 years from now?
10 years, that’s 36 years old. Hmm..I wonder if I’ll still be single. Maybe I’ll be married, maybe I’ll have kids. I’ll probably be married and at least have two cats. Maybe not in LA, maybe somewhere abroad. I would love to live abroad, maybe Latin America. Maybe I’ll still be here at KYCC. I don’t know, I haven’t thought much about it. 36 is a good age.
I like working in the public sector a lot even though the work could be pretty difficult, I still enjoy it. So I might still be in the public sector.
Why do you consider KYCC a special place?
I believe so. KYCC is very welcoming and very family like. People here are very supportive. Definitely open, fostering, nurturing, and supportive. I like KYCC.
Quickfire quesitons
- Where is your hometown?
Daejun, Korea and Cerritos, California
- What is your relationship with Koreatown?
I work here, and I’m here on the weekends. You know what I’m doing.
- What are your thoughts on Koreatown?
Always changing and hard to keep up with. Destination town.
- Where is your favorite place in Koreatown and why?
OB Bear for their fried chicken. I think it’s one of the best.
Community News
Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez and Los Angeles Planning Commissioner Robert Lee Ahn go head-to-head in the election for Congressional District 34. An election that many believe to be a battle between Latino and Korean influence.
One man was killed and another injured in a shooting on 4th Street and Vermont on May 28th.
We got a new Suhllungtang spot in Koreatown! Check out Master Ha Suhllungtang!
A multifamily housing project has come to Koreatown, a neighborhood that is sparse of them.
Johnathan Gold gives his blessing to Filipino cuisine, expect long lines at every spot in his report.
Birthdays and KYCC Anniversaries
Birthdays
- May 2 – Albert Rodriguez
- May 5 – Eric Ji
- May 9 – Veronica Espinoza
- May 10 – Luz Favela
- May 10 – Angela Jeong
- May 20 – Martin Gonzalez
- May 22 – Jovan Rodriquez
- May 22 – Paola Tirado
- May 24 – Ima Figueroa
- June 6 – Joe St. John
- June 6 – Nedette Cuerno
- June 13 – Hector Valadez
- June 17 – Anabel Torres
- June 17 – Dustin Cole
- June 22 – Rick Kim
- June 22 – Jesus Jimenez
- June 24 – HaRi Kim
- June 25 – Yun Pak
Work Anniversaries
- May 4 – Veronica Espinoza – 2 years
- May 18 – May Kim – 23 years
- May 20 – Tyrone Anderson – 1 year
- June 3 – Heather Jun – 2 years
- June 6 – Marianet Tirado Escareno – 1 year
- June 16 – Will Levegood – 1 year
- June 16 – Gennesis Lopez – 3 years
- June 20 – G Blades – 1 year
- June 21 – Nely Rojo – 12 years
- June 24 – Rick Kim – 15 years
- June 30 – Brenda Ramos – 14 years
Open Positions
Have some talented and driven friends? Let them know about our open positions.
- Clinical – Clinical Supervisor
- Environmental Services – Energy Conservation Trainee
- Kids Town – Preschool Head Teacher
- Youth Services – Middle School Instructor
- Youth Services – GRYD Case Manager
Take Note!
Say one thing at a time – From Seth Godin’s Blog
I know, you might not get the microphone back for a while.
And I know, you want to make sure everyone understands precisely what went into your thinking. Not to mention your desire to make sure that everyone who hears you hears something that they’d like to hear.
But if you try to say three things, we will hear nothing. Because most of the time, we’re hardly listening.
Ads, instructions, industrial design—they all work better when they try to say one thing at a time.
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