Hyepin Im is the founder, president and CEO of Faith and Community Empowerment (FACE) (previously known as Korean Churches for Community Development), a nonprofit that works nationally to connect local Korean and Asian-American immigrant communities with the private and public institutions that affect their lives politically and economically. FACE’s programs and services include homeownership and foreclosure prevention counseling and small business development training.

In an interview with CA Forward Thinkers, Im said, “From the beginning, we knew that it made sense to work with churches, because 75% of the Korean community here is connected to their church. At KCCD, we work through churches to provide access to services for newly arrived and not-so-newly arrived immigrants. Immigrants often see their church as a haven that supports them in so many ways.”

The Center for Community Economic Development reported that Im partnered with the FDIC and Freddie Mac to develop a Korean curriculum in financial literacy and homeownership, and she implemented a $5 million U.S. Department of Labor workforce development program.

Im has presented at numerous conferences including those at the White House, U.S. Department of Labor, Christian Community Development Association, and Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. She serves on the U.S. Army Advisory Board, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Western Partner for the Council on Foreign Relations, and the L.A. County Supervisor’s Empowerment Congress.

Areas of Expertise: Homeownership, affordable housing, foreclosure, financial education, savings & investment, workforce, economic development, economics, Asian Americans, immigration, mental health, marriage education, domestic violence, digital literacy

Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Phone: (213) 216-3676

Email: hyepin@gmail.com, hyepin.im@facela.org

Twitter: @hyepin

Im speaks on California Forward Thinkers: California’s Everyday Leaders