Kim grew up in Chicago, Illinois but moved to Los Angeles for her last few years of high school. She graduated from San Francisco State, with a degree in Psychology. While going to school, she interned at Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital in the acute care unit as well as volunteered at a residential facility counseling at-risk youth. After college, Kim went on to work in television as a production manager for a major production company and then ultimately for a major woman’s network. Eventually Kim turned her attention back to helping others and accepted a job with Pallotta TeamWorks, producing the Avon 3 Day Breast Cancer Walks and AIDS Rides, raising millions of dollars for AVON and Susan G. Komen. She co-produced the first 7 day bike ride across Montana, helping to raise more than 2 million dollars for AIDS Vaccine Research. She also served as a consultant for Cure Autism Now as the Communications and Marketing Manager, before accepting a position with Best Buddies.
As State Director for Best Buddies California; a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by pairing them in friendships with their non-disable peers as well as job placement and coaching, Kim was responsible for program development, fundraising, marketing and administration for 5 regional offices all across California, impacting the lives of more than 5,000 people on a yearly basis.
Kim is a proud recipient of the Soroptomist International of Santa Clarita Valley “Making a Difference for Women” award in 2008 and was recently named one of Santa Clarita Valley’s “40 Under 40″ leadership award in 2009. In her spare time, Kim became a successful website owner, public speaker and best selling author. Kim and her son Sammy are eight year residents of Canyon Country; and out of a strong desire to be an active member of her community and to get back to her roots of working with youth, she sought out and joined the SCV Youth Project late in 2005.
