Dear Community Members,

I am writing to inform you that after 12 years of service at the Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS), Linda Lee will step down as President and CEO effective December 31, 2021 and move on to the next phase of her career as a New York City Council Member.

Through Linda’s leadership, KCS has grown beyond all expectations and established itself as a thriving and resilient organization that is prepared to adapt and respond to the needs of our community. I speak for the Board of Directors when I say that we will miss Linda tremendously and are deeply grateful for her dedicated service, which has resulted in many significant milestones including: 

• Establishing the first New York State-licensed outpatient mental health clinic operated by a Korean nonprofit, creating a space for Korean immigrants to seek affordable, culturally-competent care

• Expanding our programs’ reach to New Jersey

• More than doubling our annual operating budget over the past 4 years

• Leading a pandemic response that tackled food insecurity among seniors, housing insecurity among lower-income community members, and broke down barriers to accessing vital COVID-19 emergency relief and services

To ensure that KCS continues to seamlessly meet the needs of our community, the Board is committed to recruiting and hiring a new President and CEO who can lead KCS with the same passion and purpose as Linda. Thus, the Board has formed an official search committee that is overseeing the transition process. Our priority is to ensure that KCS’ executive leadership reflects the community it serves and continues to drive its sustainable growth in order to better bridge the gaps in services for those community members who are most in need. Please refer to this job announcement. We would be grateful if you would circulate it to your various networks. 

Our goal is to fill the position by March of 2022. In the interim, we are grateful that Executive Vice President Myoungmi Kim (mkim@kcsny.org) has agreed to help oversee the organization and day-to-day operations until a new President and CEO is identified.  

Thank you so much for supporting KCS. We will continue to keep you updated throughout this process. For any questions about the transition process or position, please reach out to me at cchung@orsyncorp.com with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Chris Chung

Board Chair