Daeun Diane Lee

KCI Staff
Program Coordinator

PROFILE:
Daeun (Diane) works as a Program Coordinator at KCI. She was born in Seoul and raised in Suwon, South Korea. She came to the U.S. four years ago to attend college, and earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington Bothell, majoring in Media and Communication. Daeun enjoys exploring local breweries in her spare time.

What motivated you to apply for the Program Coordinator position at KCI?

When I was working at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Seattle last year, I was tasked with helping Korean seniors to register to vote for the elections in Korea. During that time, I got to witness many instances where Korean seniors were faced with challenges and a lower quality of life due to language barriers and lack of access to resources. With my fluency in Korean and academic background in media and communications, I wanted to find a job that could help make the lives of Korean seniors in the U.S. easier and more fruitful. Since one of the main responsibilities of the Program Coordinator position at KCI is to work on senior programs, it closely aligned with what I was looking for.

What does your position at KCI involve?

As a Program Coordinator at KCI, my responsibilities include planning, coordinating and managing the social service and senior programs. Also, as an integral member of the KCI team, I support other programming activities, including special events. At the moment, my main focus is to coordinate the senior assessments initiative, referral services, Korean Translated Resources program, as well as to provide other administrative support.

What has been your experience so far working at KCI?

It has been only about 2 months since I started working at KCI, but it feels like it’s been much longer, because I have learned so much! Although I wasn’t involved in the initial planning of the Chuseok Festival, it was one of KCI’s priorities when I started, so I had to jump in to help out. I learned that in order to host a festival, there are so many different types of work involved in the process. It was very challenging, as I had not worked on a virtual festival before, but as I received a lot of positive feedback from participants as well as the KCI team, I was very grateful to have been able to contribute to a successful festival.

I have also enjoyed working on senior programs. When I was doing the check-in calls, I learned that many seniors were very happy just to know that I was calling to ask about their wellbeing in their native language. I feel it is important to continue to build a strong foundation of trust between KCI and the Korean seniors. It doesn’t take that much, as even a small gesture such as a check-in call can be very meaningful to them. All these experiences have helped me to better understand and appreciate the work that KCI has been doing.

How would you like to contribute to KCI’s mission and work in the future?

From my two months of experience working at KCI, I have learned the importance of communication as a way to build a strong relationship with the community we serve. I would like to help KCI better communicate with our community, especially our seniors, by listening well to try and truly understand them and their needs. While it won’t be easy, I feel it is worth taking time and sincerely communicating with them. I hope to use my Korean cultural and language fluency to be a connective point so KCI could develop programs that meet the needs of Korean seniors.