Staff Bios

Becky Belcore, Co-Director, becky@nakasec.org

Becky Belcore has joined NAKASEC’s staff as Co-Director with Dae Joong Yoon as of January 2017.  Becky recently was the Program Manager of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, a national initiative that supports the year round civic engagement efforts of Asian American organizations, and an independent consultant for community-based organizations and foundations in the greater Chicago area.  Becky holds a B.A. from Smith College and an A.D. in Nursing from Truman College.  She previously worked as Lead Program Officer for the Woods Fund Chicago where she coordinated grantmaking and special projects.  Becky also spent 15 years as a community and labor organizer.  She has served as the Executive Director of the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), the Midwest Regional Coordinator for the Service Employees International Union  (SEIU), and is a co-founder and member of the Adoptee Rights Campaign.  Becky enjoys spending time with her daughter and identifies as a Korean adoptee.

Dae Joong (DJ) Yoon, Co-Director, djyoon@nakasec.org

Dae Joong (DJ) was part of the founding of NAKASEC in 1994 and helped lead successful campaigns in its early years, including 1995 “Justice for Immigrants” Washington Post ad campaign opposing anti-immigrant legislation, the Restoration of SSI, and the national Fix 96’ campaign, a multi-faceted campaign in 1996 that promoted civic participation and electoral organizing.  Prior to joining NAKASEC, DJ was the executive director of the Korean Resource Center (KRC), was a founding board member of the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) in Chicago, and served as the national president of Young Koreans United (YKU).  He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Strategic Concept in Organizing & Policy Education (SCOPE), the Community Advisory Board for the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services, and the Advisory Board for the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.  He identifies as a 1.5 generation Korean American and is bilingual in English and Korean.

Huong Nguyen, Community Services Coordinator, hnguyen@nakasec.org

Huong joins the NAKASEC team with the goal to build a solid volunteer and community base and lead the naturalization program. She is a former after-school teacher at AALEAD with a passion to help Asian Americans break through the “bamboo ceiling,” know who they are, know what their rights are, and to represent themselves. She holds a B.A. in Korea Studies and finished her masters in Instructional Technology and Psychology in Korea. She is first generation Vietnamese American. She speaks Vietnamese, Korean, and English fluently. In her free time, she enjoys playing billiards, reading books, singing, learning to play drum and piano, and crocheting.

Joshua Nam, Community Organizer, jnam@nakasec.org

Joshua was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and received his B.A. in Political Science and Korean, through the Korean Language Flagship Program, from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Prior to joining NAKASEC, Joshua served as a Teach for America Hawaii 2015 corps member and taught 7th and 8th grade Math at Wahiawa Middle School in Central Oahu. His time as an educator for Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth allowed him to see the importance of youth organizing and advocacy. He is a 2nd generation Korean American who enjoys playing sports, running, and biking while exploring new neighborhoods.

Miae Bok, Resource Organizer, mbok@nakasec.org

Miae is joining NAKASEC VA as Resource Organizer to assist with development and community engagement.  She is a 2nd generation Korean American interested in intersectional justice and creating safer spaces for under-served communities.  She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia and a M.S.W from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Before coming to NAKASEC, she interned with the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance providing data analysis and research support to create more inclusive services and programs. While interning with Diversity Richmond, she kick started the first Bisexual+ support group at the organization.  In her spare time, Miae enjoys spoiling her dog, painting and crafting.

Nancy Wu, Finance Manager, nancy@nakasec.org

Nancy is a 2nd generation Chinese American and a born-and-raised Chicagoan.  She has a B.S. in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. In addition to her work at NAKASEC, Nancy is also the Finance Manager of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100).  Prior to joining NAKASEC in February 2017, Nancy had experience with both corporate and non-profit accounting and tax issues.  Her hobbies include woodworking, illustration, taking long walks with her rescue dog Bailey, and volunteering at the local animal shelter.

Sam Yu, Communications Coordinator, syu@nakasec.org

Sam is a first-generation graduate from the College of William & Mary with a Bachelor of Arts in History, summa cum laude. Sam has experience in community organizing, awareness campaigns, and programming for marginalized communities through non-profit work and on-campus groups. Sam is especially passionate about the intersections of race and sexuality, reproductive justice, ending gender-based violence, and achieving immigration justice. In their free time, Sam enjoys discussing RuPaul’s Drag Race, horror movies, and practicing their jump split.

Sookyung Oh, D.C. Area Director, soh@nakasec.org

Sookyung returns to NAKASEC as D.C. Area Director to lead organizing and campaign work in Virginia. Previously she coordinated NAKASEC’s national immigrant rights campaigns. Most recently she served at the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) as a Public Policy Analyst and the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis in Richmond, VA as a State Policy Fellow. She started working in Korean and Asian American communities at the Jaisohn Center and Asian Americans United in Philadelphia. Currently, she is on the board of the ACLU-DC, the Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET), and the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR). She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University. She is a 2nd generation Korean American who enjoys comic books and the D.C. blues scene.