Josephine Kim Named Senior Lecturer

Josephine Kim has been promoted to senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kim is a licensed mental health professional known globally for her expertise on diversity and inclusion, cross-cultural advocacy, and social and emotional issues. Kim joined the faculty as a lecturer in 2006.

“A renowned expert on issues related to mental health and student wellness, Jo Kim has demonstrated a deep commitment to educating and supporting students,” said Dean Bridget Long. “I am delighted that her contributions to our community and to the field are being recognized with this promotion.”

Since coming to HGSE, Kim has dedicated her work to increasing the access of underrepresented groups to key resources, like high-quality education and mental health support. She is the former faculty director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and a former resident fellow in the Administrative Fellowship Program at the Office of the Assistant to the President for Institutional Diversity and Equity at Harvard. Since 2008, Kim has served as the faculty adviser to HGSE’s Pan Asian Coalition on Education, a student affinity group. Since 2015, she has also advised Let’s Talk!, an annual student-directed conference that focuses on the success and wellbeing of Asian and Asian American students. 

“I hold multiple professional identities and work in diverse sectors concurrently, but the thread that runs through it all is HGSE and its mission,” Kim said. “HGSE is the home base through which my work is tethered and empowered.”

In addition to her work at HGSE, Kim is the author of four books on self-esteem and the founding board chair of a nonprofit organization that aims to educate Asian Americans on issues of cultural and racial identity, intergenerational conflicts, cross-cultural advocacy, spirituality, and mental health. 

She is currently working with the United Nations as an expert on diversity and inclusion training design, focused on antiracism in the workplace. In the coming year, Kim is eager to continue to advise and train students at HGSE as they work to build a healthier, more equitable world.