Growing up in Incheon, South Korea, I studied public administration at Korea University (Bachelor of Public Administration; Minor in Political Science, 2003) and Seoul National University (MPA, 2005). Throughout the years in Korea, I became fascinated with how people created public institutions and then were affected by their creations.

In 2007, I moved to the United States to begin a doctoral program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where I deepened my institutional perspective on the working of government (Ph.D. in Policy, Planning & Development with a specialization in Public Management, “Essays on Fiscal Outcomes of Cities in California,” 2013).

Since 2014, I have been producing a number of peer-reviewed publications in local government and governance, nonprofits, contract management, and environmental policy at Boise State University, Idaho. I also have experience working on research proposals for large-scale federal grants and conducting community engagement projects to help state and local policymakers.

In August 2024, I joined the faculty of the Department of Public Administration in Tennessee State University in Nashville as Assistant Professor.