Senior Director, Leadership and Exchange Programs

David L. Kim is senior director for Leadership and Exchanges programs at The Asia Foundation. He was previously coordinator of the Luce Scholars program and director of the Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s Future program for the Foundation. Kim previously served as manager of international programming at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, responsible for coordinating and managing local, national, and international programming initiatives including the Center’s major international festivals Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World (2009), and JAPAN! (2008).

From 2002 to 2005 Kim was the director of The Asia Foundation’s 50th anniversary project, an effort developed to recognize the distinctive history and impact of the Foundation’s programming, increase the Foundation’s visibility and profile, and position the Foundation for new opportunities and directions. In previous leadership positions he has served as senior director for communications and marketing at Special Olympics International; chief of staff of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial; and executive director of the Korea Society’s Washington office. He has worked with Save the Children in Korea, and as a VISTA Volunteer at the Western Massachusetts Food Bank.

As a journalist, David Kim has published numerous articles in publications including Scholastic News, Asiam, Transpacific, and Current. He served as the Washington, D.C. correspondent of the Korea Daily, as well as assistant newsdesk editor at TIME magazine. His service and contribution to the leadership and governance of numerous community organizations have included: the Community and Friends Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Board of Directors of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington; the Washington, DC Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; the Board of Directors of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea; and, the Board of Directors of the International Student Conferences. He is a member of both the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy and the Asian American Journalists Association.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts; master’s degree in International Affairs from the American University