As president of Island Institute, Kim is responsible for setting and implementing Island Institute’s strategic direction in partnership with the board of trustees, senior leadership team and community partners. In September 2022, Kim was hired as interim chief programs officer and oversaw programmatic work while working as a part of the senior leadership team on cross-cutting issues related to strategy, development and impact. Kim brings to the organization years of nonprofit, philanthropy, and policy experience, a Ph.D. in Demography, and a master’s degree in International Economics.

In her previous occupation, Kim served as the president of FocusMaine where she led efforts to accelerate job creation in the agriculture, aquaculture, and biopharmaceutical sectors. Other positions she has held in her career include chief impact officer at Feeding America, an organization that supports 200 food banks across the United States, and director of strategy planning and management at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where she developed grantmaking strategies and helped advance the foundation’s policy and advocacy goals.

Kim grew up in North Yarmouth and spent much of her childhood where she now lives on Chebeague Island as a ninth-generation islander. Kim has also seen much of the world, having lived in Washington D.C., New York City, Seattle, Providence RI, Pittsburgh PA, Botswana, Senegal, and Paris. She now lives on the island with her husband and their beloved dog, Crosby, in the home that once belonged to her grandparents. She loves island life, traveling, and oil painting in her spare time.