Korean-American Community Leader Hyepin Im Joins Board of National Service Agency

Washington, D.C. - Hyepin Im, founder and president of Los Angeles-based Korean Churches for Community Development, will help guide national policy for service and volunteering as a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The Corporation, a federal agency, is the nation’s largest grant maker for volunteering and service, engaging more than four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service each year through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, and Learn and Serve America programs. The agency provides vital support for America’s voluntary and nonprofit sector through grants, volunteers, training, research, and other support.

The 15-member bipartisan board sets overall policy and direction for the agency and its programs and provides guidance to the agency’s CEO. Im was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate. Her term will last through October of 2013. She was sworn in today by Board Chairman Alan Solomont.

“Every day volunteers make a difference for millions of Americans in need,” said Im. “I am honored to work with the board to strengthen our nation’s proud tradition of citizen service. Throughout my life I’ve seen how volunteers can make a powerful impact on some of our toughest problems. In this economic crisis, we need people to serve their neighbors more than ever. I am thrilled by the opportunity to work on a national level to make service more effective at meeting America’s challenges by creating a platform in which all Americans – native or newly arrived, faith-based or community, public or private, can serve and make a difference.”

The appointment comes at a time of strong positive momentum for the agency and the volunteer sector in America. Volunteering is at historically high levels, with more than 60 million Americans giving an estimated 8.1 billion hours of service last year. In his Inaugural Address, President Obama saluted the American spirit of service and called for a new era of personal responsibility. He has said service will be a central cause of his presidency, and his service and social innovation agenda includes expanding AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 slots, engaging more retiring Americans, expanding service-learning in our nation's schools, and seeding innovation and strengthening the capacity of the nonprofit sector.

“This is a moment of unprecedented need and opportunity for national service, and we are delighted Hyepin will be helping us seize this moment,” said Board Chair Alan Solomont. “Hyepin is a national leader in community building and faith-based economic development who brings decades of experience and a passionate commitment to service. She will provide valuable insights and leadership as we work to usher in a new era of service in America.”

Im is the Founder and President of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD), whose mission is to help faith-based and community based organizations increase their capacity in economic development work to a greater scale. KCCD has organized and reached out to the 4,000 Korean American churches in the United States and has hosted two conferences with the White House bringing together a national delegation of Asian American faith leaders to learn about the faith-based economic development.

Under Im’s leadership, KCCD has implemented many innovative initiatives in the Korean/Asian American community, including operating a national grant through the Corporation for National and Community Service to place 26 AmeriCorps VISTA members in multiple states. Other initiatives include a Homeownership Initiative which has educated more than 4,000 potential homebuyers, a Foreclosure Assistance Initiative that has assisted more than 1,500 homeowners, capacity building training that has trained more than 2,000 faith-based and community nonprofit leaders, a healthy marriages initiative, financial literacy, a youth workforce initiative for at-risk and adjudicated youth, an ongoing weekly radio program, a national database and research study on Korean American churches, and other ongoing training programs.

Im has participated in many civic activities related to faith-based economic development, including serving as the Co-Chair for the Interfaith Faith Committee for Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, serving on the Koreatown Advisory Board for Assemblymember Mike Davis, serving on the Steering Committee of Churches United for Economic Development, and serving as Vice President for the Council of Korean Churches in Southern California. She also served as President of the Korean American Coalition.

Im was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California as a Commissioner on California Volunteers (formerly California Service Corp). A graduate of the Coro Leadership Southern California, Im was previously with Renaissance Capital Partners as a Venture Capital Associate, GTA Consulting Company as Vice President, and Ernst & Young LLP as Consultant and Auditor as well as Sponsorship Manager at the California Science Center. She received her B.S. from U.C. Berkeley, her M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, and Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary.

During the President Obama’s Inauguration, Im joined thousands of other volunteers in assembling care packages for US military personnel serving oversees as part of the National Day of Service on the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. In 1994, Congress charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading efforts to transform the holiday into a national day of service. Fueled by a call to service by President Obama, the 2009 King Day of Service involved more than 13,000 projects nationwide, more than double last year.