DAVID LEE
Corporate Honoree

David Lee has been an innovator and pioneer in the sustainable food industry. As President of AppHarvest, David is integrating cutting-edge technology with conventional farming techniques to advance sustainable practices in the agriculture industry. Prior to AppHarvest, he served in several leadership positions, including COO & CFO of Impossible Foods, where he generated over $1.3B in funding to make plant-based meats available to the masses. We are honoring David to recognize his innovative work as a Korean American entrepreneur for companies with a mindful approach to minimizing environmental impact.

When KACF-SF was founded in 2014, he and his wife were one of our earliest supporters. We would not be where we are today without them.

COREY LEE
Trailblazer Honoree

Considered one of the most talented chefs in the US, Corey Lee’s career has spanned nearly 25 years. He has served as the Head Chef at some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the world, including a tenure at The French Laundry where his work was recognized with a James Beard Award. He made history in 2014 when his flagship restaurant, Benu, was awarded three Michelin stars - he was not only the first Korean chef, but also the first San Francisco restaurant to receive the highly coveted honor. In recognition of his work and influence, he also became a Goodwill Ambassador to the city of Seoul, Korea, an honor given to leaders in various fields.

In 2021, KACF-SF partnered with his forthcoming Korean restaurant, San Ho Won, to provide 700 hot meals to seniors, domestic violence survivors, and unhoused communities.

MARILYN STRICKLAND
Distinguished Community Leader

Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland was born in Seoul, South Korea to a Black father and Korean mother and raised in South Sound, Washington. She is the first African American to represent Washington State at the federal level. In 2020, she made history as one of the first Korean American women elected to Congress in its span of 230 years. During her tenure as the Mayor of Tacoma (2010-2017), she was a steadfast advocate for the most vulnerable populations. Her many accomplishments include leading a successful effort to raise the minimum wage, creating an action plan to improve air and water quality, and increasing the high school graduation rate in Tacoma from 55% to 89%.

Congresswoman Strickland has spoken out against the rise in hate violence against the AAPI community. She has modeled coalition building through her dual membership in both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucuses. We recognize her as a Distinguished Community Leader for her embodiment of what it means to “Rise Together”.

ANDY KIM
Distinguished Community Leader

Congressman Andy Kim grew up in South New Jersey as a proud son of Korean immigrants, where he attended public K-12 schools before becoming a Rhodes Scholar. He is the first Democratic member of Congress of Korean descent and the first Korean American congressman from New Jersey. In 2020, he became the first Democrat to win a second term in his district since 1852.

In March 2021, he launched In Our Hands Political Action Committee, which will help recruit, train and support AAPI candidates of color to run for office at all levels. Through this initiative, he is fostering the next generation of AAPI leaders in government and raising awareness about the importance of AAPIs’ political participation in solving the issues that impact our community.

In refusing to let the “sun rise on a broken Congress” after the insurrection of January 6th, he reminded us through his actions to stand together against divisive narratives. We honor Congressman Kim as a figure that exemplifies the American Dream and his demonstration of courage and compassion during the darkest hour of modern American history.

DANIEL DAE KIM
Special Guest

Daniel Dae Kim has captivated global audiences with his transformative performances across film, television and theater. His body of work continues to evolve with powerful roles and compelling narratives as an actor, director and producer.

Up first, Kim will appear in an episode of BJ Novak’s The Premise. The show is a fearlessly ambitious new series that uses comedy to engage with the biggest issues of our unprecedented modern era. His episode, “Butt Plug”, tells the story of a once-poor child of immigrants, who has now become one of the world’s richest men presents a chance at redemption to his former school bully: an uninterrupted hour with his board of directors to pitch a very specific product. Written by B.J. Novak and directed by Jake Schreier, Daniel’s episode premieres on FX on October 7th.

Following that, he will star in the second installment of Nat Geo’s scripted anthology series, The Hot Zone: Anthrax. The gripping series marks Daniel’s first leading role in his career and is based on the domestic terror attacks following 9/11. Kim stars as the federal agent on the case, opposite Tony Goldwyn. The show premieres on Nat Geo this Thanksgiving.

Next year, Kim can be seen in AMC’s Pantheon, the ambitious one-hour animated drama, based on a series of short stories by Ken Liu about Uploaded Intelligence. AMC has ordered two seasons of the timely drama, which also features the voices of Katie Chang, Paul Dano, Rosemarie DeWitt, Aaron Eckhart, Taylor Schilling and Ron Livingston. Pantheon will premiere in 2022.

Daniel is currently in production of Apple TV+’s Roar. The anthology series, created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (GLOW) and executive produced by Nicole Kidman, is based on Cecelia Ahern’s book of short stories. The series features eight, half-hour episodes, each told from a female point of view. In Daniel’s episode, a best-selling author receives critical acclaim for her book on being Black in America, she’s flown to Hollywood and as her work becomes increasingly exploited for mass cultural consumption, she slowly starts to turn invisible.

Kim recently starred in Joe Penna’s Stowaway, opposite Toni Collette, Anna Kendrick and Shamier Anderson. After a stowaway is discovered on a mission to Mars, the crew is faced with an existential decision that may jeopardize all their lives. An intensely personal human drama, Netflix released the film worldwide on April 22. Kim also recently lent his vocal talents to Disney +’s Raya and The Last Dragon, which also features the voices of Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong and Sandra Oh.

Kim’s imperative work as an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion for Asians throughout the US, as well as in Hollywood, has been documented in the New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News Nightline and a ground-breaking five-part PBS documentary. Kim has testified in front of Congress twice and was instrumental in the passing of the bill “Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act” In addition to Kim’s public-facing activism work, he is also a founding board member of the newly formed non-profit The Asian American Foundation, which aims to solve for the longstanding underinvestment in AAPI advocacy and power-building infrastructures. Since May, TAAF has already donated $125 million in support of AAPI causes and raised $1.1 billion in its first month.

Kim’s production company, 3AD, which specifically develops content featuring characters that are traditionally underrepresented, in front of, and behind the camera, is extremely active with several projects in development, through a first look deal with Amazon. For the past five years 3AD has produced the hit ABC show, The Good Doctor, which is a one-hour drama featuring a doctor with autism, which Kim adapted from a Korean format – he also serves as Executive Producer. Additionally, a dramedy series entitled Shoot the Moon starring Ken Jeong was just greenlit at Amazon. This is Always is set up at Amazon as well, with Mina Shum writing and directing and Daniel in talks to star. 3AD has several more projects in development, including a highly anticipated heist movie with Randall Park.

Prior to his seven-season portrayal of Chin Ho Kelly on the juggernaut series Hawaii Five-0, Kim was perhaps best known for his role as Jin Soo Kwon on the hit TV series Lost, for which he shared a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble and was individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award and a Vanguard Award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor. He has been repeatedly recognized with the prestigious KoreAm Driven Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment.

In 2016, Kim received a Broadway Beacon Award for his role as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center's Tony Award-winning production of The King and I, as well as the Theater Legacy Award from New York's Pan Asian Repertory Theater.

Previous credits include the films: Hellboy, Insurgent, Allegiant, The Jackal, For The Love of The Game, The Hulk, Spider-Man 2, as well as the Academy Award® winning film Crash. Previous television credits include: The Legend of Kora, Flack, New Amsterdam, Crusade, and 24.

Kim has also lent his voice talents to animated series and films, such as the award-winning Studio Ghibli film, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, as well as the PBS nature documentary series, Big Pacific, and Asian Americans. Kim has also voiced characters for several video games, most notably, Johnny Gat in the bestselling series, Saints Row.

Born in Busan, South Korea, and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Kim discovered acting while a student at Haverford College. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he began his career on stage, performing in classics such as Romeo and Juliet, Ivanov and A Doll's House. Despite early success, he chose to further his knowledge of the craft by enrolling in New York University's Graduate Acting Program, where he earned his Master's Degree. When not working, Kim and his family make their home in Hawaii.

PHILIP YUN
Moderator

Philip Yun is President and CEO of World Affairs. Previously, Mr. Yun was Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Ploughshares Fund. Prior to joining Ploughshares Fund, he was a vice president at The Asia Foundation (2005-2011), a Pantech Scholar in Korean Studies at the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center at Stanford University (2004-2005) and a vice president at the private equity firm of H&Q Asia Pacific (2001-2004).

Mr. Yun was a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of State (1994-2001), serving as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During this time, he also worked as a senior advisor to two U.S. Coordinators for North Korea Policy -- former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and former Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. Mr. Yun was a member of a government working-group that managed U.S. policy and negotiations with North Korea under President Clinton and was part of the U.S. delegation that traveled to North Korea with Secretary of State Madeline Albright in October 2000.

Prior to government service, Mr. Yun practiced law at the firms of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro in San Francisco and Garvey Schubert & Barer in Seattle. He also was a foreign legal consultant at the firm of Shin & Kim in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Yun’s writings and commentary have appeared on CNN, The Hill, Foreign Policy.com, AP TV, Fox News, National Public Radio, NBC, U.S. News and World Report, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. He is the co-editor of a book entitled, North Korea and Beyond (2006).

Mr. Yun attended Brown University (magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and the Columbia University School of Law. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Korea. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and member of the Board of Overseers for Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.