MY CAREER JOURNEY
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER | AADAP, Inc.
I started my career as a Community Organizer for a nonprofit called the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) in Los Angeles. I ran youth leadership development programs for at-risk high school students to support our nonprofit mission to prevent substance abuse and violence. It was in this role as a young, green, but passion filled Community Organizer that I learned the importance of building strategic partnerships with a variety of stakeholders (elected officials, government agencies, school administration, police departments, neighborhood groups, business associations). I spent 2 years working long hours to “earn my stripes” in grassroots community work.
GRAD STUDENT LIFE + CONSULTING | USC
Then I left AADAP to pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) at the University of Southern California (USC). During grad school, I interned with a state mental hospital as a clinician, working with severely mentally ill penal code patients (charged with a crime but deemed not guilty by reason of insanity). I also worked part-time with the Gardena Police Department to project manage the development of the City’s emergency management plan. I also interned with the City of Pasadena and helped staff the City’s Commission on the Status of Women, which then turned into a consulting contract to develop a new city Youth Council program as well as a publicity campaign for city afterschool programs.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER | Countrywide Financial
After grad school, I was one of very few MSW graduates that took a social work degree to chart a new, non-traditional social work career path. I entered corporate life to make a difference in communities on a macro level, using corporate resources. Before Countrywide Financial went under and was acquired by Bank of America, I worked in their corporate office as a project manager supporting affordable housing, consumer education and community outreach initiatives to promote homeownership amongst diverse, multicultural markets.
SPECIAL PROJECTS | City of Gardena
Back to city government. I worked in the City Manager’s Office, managing projects to improve public services. I wrote legislative recommendations, managed the Small Business Advisory Council, conducted an organizational audit of a major city department and joined police officers on sting operations to combat human trafficking in massage parlors — offering my Korean language skills.
SR. BUSINESS PARTNER, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS | Target Corporation
Back to corporate life. I was recruited by Target to build strategic partnerships with law enforcement, emergency management officials, and nonprofit organizations to (1) advance the company's community engagement and corporate reputation in building safer, more resilient communities and (2) mitigate security risks for Target stores as part of Target's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform.
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL | Hetty Group
After 7 years at Target, I moved from LA to NYC in 2014 and started an entrepreneurial adventure. I launched HETTY GROUP as a social impact focused public affairs and community engagement consulting firm, with the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation as my first client. I then grew my client portfolio and built a small team, working in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, Washington DC and Las Vegas. Through HETTY GROUP, I had amazing opportunities to make a difference more broadly, with a variety of clients in philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, public affairs/government relations, corporate security and police-community relations.
I am a Senior Advisor to Corporate Security Advisors, a national corporate security consulting company, where I provide niche expertise in public/private sector partnerships, as well as stakeholder and community engagement strategies.
I am an Advisor to Aegis Response Team, a startup offering alternative solutions to policing, providing non-police responses to non-injury car accidents to help understaffed police departments deliver outstanding service to citizens with fewer uniformed officers.
I am always looking for opportunities to connect, collaborate and ideate around new projects and initiatives. Reach out. We never know where a conversation may lead.