WHY DKF
Our Mission
Dragon Manifesto
Be more than a leader, be a dragon.
The world underestimates young people. We’re here to change that.
A DRAGON…
- knows life is a gift and lives it to the fullest
- believes life is what he makes it, and makes it amazing
- works hard to achieve what doesn’t come naturally to her
- perseveres through adversity – even tragedy – to lift up others
- is quick to offer a hand and unafraid to ask for help
- inspires others to find the fire in their belly
- leads with head and heart
- empowers other dragons
What if every person in the world lived like a dragon?
What if we helped everyone discover their inner dragon?
Together we can.
Welcome to the Dragon Kim Foundation. Mentor a dragon. Empower a dragon. Become a dragon.
Join the family.
“His spirit continues to fly over us, keeping us under his big wings.”
Why are We Different
- Our Fellowship Program
- A 3-in-1 experience: Our Fellows receive weekly mentoring, business training, and seed funding to launch their vision!
- Our program is 100% tuition free, and we work rigorously every year to recruit students from marginalized or low-income communities.
- Our Music Program
- Teaching the Art of Teaching: Our Music Student Teachers have the opportunity to receive feedback and mentoring from credentialed Master Teachers. They build lessons plans, are observed during their classes, and have time to review their progress weekly.
- Our program is 100% tuition free, including lending out free instruments and music supplies for every student to use at home.
Our Team
Staff
Daniel Kim
Co-founder & Chairman of the Board
Daniel has 25 years of experience in Global Capital Markets, Investment Banking & Private Equity, in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Los Angeles. He is currently running a private equity fund focused on private lower middle market companies and corporate restructurings. Daniel also has extensive nonprofit experience, having served on the Board for the Koreatown Youth and Community Center for over ten years, having founded the OC Heat Volleyball Club, and as co-founder of the Dragon Kim Foundation.
Amber Serafin
Fellowship Program Director
Amber Serafin is passionate about journeying with teens and supporting them in becoming the best version of themselves. She has experience in multiple domains holding past titles in Youth Ministry at Central Church, Applied Behavior Analyst with Nevada Early Intervention and 4 years working within the CCSD Autism Kids Program. Her passion lies within being in service to others and inspiring them to do the same.
Linda Devita
Finance Manager
Linda is happy to join the finance team at the Dragon Kim Foundation. Her experience includes 25 years of managing the families flower and event business while raising 3 children. During this time Linda also worked as the bookkeeper for a successful mortgage company as well as running her own skincare business. Before opening the family business, Linda moved to Italy to help run the family flower business, learned to speak Italian and make great Italian food. Linda enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with her grown adult children.
Maliyah Mason
Grant Writer
Maliyah spent her teen years playing French Horn for her high school symphonic orchestra, and marching band, before becoming Drum Major her senior year. At CSU Long Beach, she shifted her creative interests to writing and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Screenwriting. In 2017, she was crowned "Miss Compton," where she used her platform to expose students to classical music. This experience fostered her connection with kids and teens, leading to several years working as an English Comprehension and Writing tutor. She's eager to further engage in youth development while using her writing to connect with others and express her ideas to the world
Dan Pittman
Press Relations Consultant
Dan is an award-winning public relations/marketing professional with a media background and over 45 years of experience working with many for-profit and nonprofit national and international organizations. He founded Dan Pittman & Associates, Inc. in 1998. He has held senior posts at BSMG Worldwide Public Relations, Bozell Worldwide; Salvati Montgomery Sakoda; Cochrane Chase, Livingston; and Cunningham & Walsh. His corporate background includes service with Toyota Motor Sales, Inc., the National Hot Rod Association, and the California Dental Association. Dan began his career at the Associated Press (Chicago/Los Angeles bureaus). He is a graduate of Arizona State and USC and is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. He is the volunteer chair of nonprofit Project Independence, and former chair of the Community Roots Academy Foundation.
Fatima Oregon
Marketing Coordinator
Fatima Oregon is a student at Cerritos College, passionate about serving the community & is honored to be joining the Foundation as their Marketing Coordinator. As a Chicana student, she shares her love for her culture and roots through the medium of Ballet Folklorico. Putting her Folklorico talents to good use, Fatima was a part of the DKF-5 cohort as a co-founder of Project Sembrando Dahlias; a Mexican-Folk dance program aiming to spread cultural awareness and pride among underrepresented youth. Fatima values her downtime, spending it reading fiction and biographical books, spending time with her wiener dog T-Boe, and discovering new music!
Orion Tang
Executive Administrative Assistant
Having recently graduated from CSU Long Beach with a BS in Computer Science, Orion is a long time friend of the Dragon Kim Foundation and is ecstatic to join the team as an official staff member. He volunteers in multiple community orchestras across LA and Orange County, exercising both his passions for music and fostering connections with others across diverse communities. In his free time, Orion enjoys honing his skills on viola, bass, and guitar, as well as finding the steepest hills to rip on his skateboard.
Board of Directors
Grace Tsai
Co-Founder & Board Member
Grace Tsai is a marketing professional with over 15 years of experience managing consumer-focused brands such as Yahoo!, ConAgra Foods, and Botox Cosmetic. Aside from serving as Executive Director of the Dragon Kim Foundation, Grace utilizes her marketing expertise to promote the organization and establish relationships with funders, volunteers, and supporters.
We are thankful for our diverse team of executive board members that bring their dedication, expertise, and commitment to our mission and help us make the most impact on the amazing youth coming through our programs.
Thao Ngo
Treasurer
Thao Ngo is a finance and accounting professional with expertise and background in Fortune 500 companies and leading non-profit organizations. Thao joined our Board in 2016 and currently serves as the Treasurer for the Dragon Kim Foundation and manages all Foundation finances and serves on the Concert Committee.
Stacy Handley
Secretary
Stacy Handley has over 25 years of experience in Human Resources. She has had the privilege to work within several different industries during that time and enjoys working with great people and teams to help make a difference. She joined our Board in 2016 and advises with Human Resources strategies.
Bonnie Carlson
Board Member
Bonnie Carlson is the retired President and CEO of the Brand Activation Assocation (BAA). Bonnie’s career includes executive positions in four global consumer package goods companies, including General Foods, Unilever, Nestle, and ConAgra Foods. Bonnie has served on the Dragon Kim Foundation Board since 2016 and advises the organization on marketing and public relations.
Teren Shaffer
Board Member
Teren Shaffer currently serves as the President & CEO of Orange County School of the Arts and the California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley. Teren is also highly lauded as an arts manager, music educator, and conductor. Teren joined our Board in 2016 and oversees the Dragon Kim Foundation Music Program.
Kerri Sonenshine
Board Member
Kerri Sonenshine has built a career in Brand Management and Product Management, and now serves on the Executive Board of several nonprofits, including Human Options and the Dragon Kim Foundation. She has served the Dragon Kim Foundation since 2015 on the Fellowship Committee, the Concert Committee, and Co-Chairing Dragon Challenge Committee.
Bill Tate
Board Member
Bill Tate is a partner at Bryan Cave, LLC. Bill's career includes Partner positions at both Bryan Cave and Morrison Forrester, in their real estate law practice. Bill has served as a legal advisor for the Dragon Kim Foundation since 2015.
Helen Yi
Board Member
Helen Yi is a real estate professional with over 20 years of experience in corporate real estate, commercial and land development, asset management, and affordable housing. Helen joined our Board in 2015 and has served on the Concert Committee, the Fellowship Committee, and in a development capacity.
Interns
Aanvi Goel
AZ Fellowship Intern
Aanvi Goel is a 17 year old junior who attends Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix Arizona. She has a passion for cooking meals and making them as nutritious as possible. As she started volunteering around her community, she noticed that many children did not have access to all the foods she enjoyed and having been surrounded by these meals all her life, wanted to share her passion for cooking and nutrition with everyone she encountered. Aanvi joined DKF-7 to teach underserved kids and families not only how to cook healthy, but why it is important to make healthy decisions. In her free time, she likes to workout, cook, play golf, and listen to music.
Avery Yew
CA Fellowship Intern
Avery Yew is a 16-year-old junior at Los Alamitos High School who is passionate about bringing environmental education and advocacy to underserved youth. This summer she ran her fellowship project, Project REACH, which held multi-day art camps to teach over 300 students about the importance of conservation. Outside of school, Avery likes to crochet, read, and journal.
Jiin Yun
CA Fellowship Intern
Jiin Yun is a current senior at Orange County School of the Arts and intern at the Dragon Kim Foundation. She is passionate about the environment, creative writing, and playing the cello. Jiin was part of the DKF-7 cohort, where she led The Recycling Dictionary, a student-run nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) that aims to teach the public about proper recycling. When Jiin has extra time, she enjoys going on drives with her sister and going to karaoke with friends.
Liliana Orlina
CA Fellowship Intern
Liliana Orlina is a current junior at Legacy Magnet Academy. She was a part of DKF-7 with project BMT that helped Be The Match, a national stem cell registry, find donors for cancer patients in need of a bone marrow transplant. Liliana is from Ukraine, and moved to the US in 2017. She is passionate about helping and learning from others! She loves deep talks about mindset and self growth. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, watching movies and hanging out with her loved ones.
Namrata Manikandan
CA Fellowship Intern
Namrata Manikandan is a 17-year-old senior at Valencia High School in Placentia, California whose passion for music began at the age of 5. Growing up, she took lessons in South Indian Classical and Western Pop vocal music which guided her emotional growth and helped break her out of her shell. In building her musical craft, Namrata realized the lack of music education opportunities for many of her peers who came from low-income backgrounds. As a result, Namrata joined DKF-7 with Major Musicality to teach students in K-12 songwriting to stimulate creativity and help them express themselves in a healthy way. In her free time, Namrata likes to read, hang out with her friends, and write music.
Robert Barsel
NV Fellowship Intern
Rob Barsel is an 18-year-old senior at the Meadows School whose passion to help children understand mental health began at 5-years-old when his father passed away suddenly. Having run peer support groups in Las Vegas for 5 years and wanting to reach more kids, Rob joined DKF-6 to write a book and have it professionally illustrated to help children 12-18 learn how to approach their Mental Health and healthy coping skills. In his free time Rob likes to cook, read comics, and learn cardistry.
FOUNDER’S STORY
In August 2015, while we were on a family camping trip in Yosemite, a massive tree branch fell on the tent in which our beloved son, Dragon Kim, and his dear friend, Justin Lee, were sleeping. Dragon and Justin were instantly killed.
They say grief is love with nowhere to go. Our love for Dragon needed somewhere to land. We established The Dragon Kim Foundation in Dragon’s honor to carry on his love of life, to make it possible for other young people to pursue their passions, and to help give others access to a bright future.
Dragon loved many things — math, his dogs, hanging out with friends, guacamole. But most of all, Dragon loved music. As a freshman at the Orange County School of the Arts, Dragon and a few friends had gathered to discuss how they could provide musical instruments and instruction to underserved kids in Santa Ana, where their school is located. So as the first project of The Dragon Kim Foundation, we started a music program to bring Dragon’s dream of helping kids learn and love music to life.
More importantly, we had always told our children that it was their job to find what they love to do. But we realized that not all children have those opportunities, so the mission of the Foundation has been to give children, regardless of socio-economic background, those important opportunities to pursue what they enjoy, and in the process, make positive changes in their communities.
Dragon was our shining star — bright, warm, generous, and always beaming. He cared deeply not only for family but for his friends and for those around him. He had a talent for teaching young kids. We believe that this is some of the work he would have pursued, and that the best way to keep his spirit alive is through supporting the achievements of others. Please join us in this journey to give our youth more opportunities to pursue what they are passionate about.
Dragon, we love you so much. Thank you for bringing laughter, love, and music to our lives. You are our precious son, and you will live on in our hearts and in the work of the Dragon Kim Foundation.
With Much Love,
Grace and Daniel Kim
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