Friday, March 27, 2009

2009 Pioneer Woman: Hyepin Im

This morning each Los Angeles City Councilmember recognized an outstanding woman leader as part of our Pioneer Woman awards, and I had the pleasure of honoring Hyepin Im.


Hyepin founded and serves as the President of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD), which has organized more than 4,000 Korean American churches around the country to do economic development work. KCCD also reaches out directly to families through innovative initiatives including a Homeownership Initiative that has educated more than 4,000 potential homebuyers, a national database and research study on Korean American Churches, a financial literacy program, and a program for at-risk Asian American youth that is funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hyepin was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Presidential appointee to the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal government’s largest funder of service and volunteerism. Her leadership was integral to the success of KCCD’s two conferences with the White House that brought together Asian American leaders to learn about faith-based economic development.

Hyepin is an outstanding example of the entrepreneurial spirit of a pioneer woman. Her work in our communities not only benefits families today, but is laying the foundation for a better quality of life for future generations.