Advisory Board
In support of Mason Korea and its students, the Mason Korea Advisory Board furthers Mason Korea’s effort to become a premier location for global access to a top US educational institution with an international perspective and constituency.
The board is composed of leaders in business, government, non-profits, education and the community, and has membership located in Korea and in Northern Virginia. Mason Korea is proud to have the advice and support of this esteemed group.
Ms. Ok Soon Ahn (안옥순)
President, HuBrain
Ok Soon Ahn is the President of HubBrain, an executive search firm, and the CEO of Bi Chaeuiseojae, a book publishing company. She has served as an interviewer for civil servants in many provincial and municipal governments, including Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gyeonggi Province, Jeju City Hall, Seogwipo City Hall, and the Jeju Development Corporation. She has given for university students lectures on leadership and career development. She is currently also an advisor to the National Institute of Forest Science. She has a daughter studying business at George Mason University, Korea.
Mr. Jae-Hoon Bae
Chairman, Korea Coach Association
Ms. Katrina Chang
Senior Advisor, Kim & Chang
Katrina Chang joined Kim & Chang in 2015 and serves as a senior advisor on the firm’s International Trade and Customs Practice. Prior to joining Kim & Chang, Ms. Chang was a career Federal Service Officer for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest law enforcement agency in the United States, serving for over 27 years in a variety of leadership positions from which she oversaw diverse trade enforcement issues such as implementing and enforcing FTAs, antidumping/countervailing duties, intellectual property, and other industry-specific customs compliance issues. She was the first Asian-American Director selected to lead CBP’s Asia/Pacific region of International Affairs, for which she oversaw CBP’s attachés and promoted critical international trade/immigration/security programs in that region. She is a graduate of US Federal Government's Executive Potential Program, an inter-agency leadership program for federal executives, as well as of the CBP’s multidisciplinary Command Leadership Program for its law enforcement executives.
Ms. Anne Choe
Advisor, Dwight School
Anne Choe currently serves as an advisor on the School Consultative Group at Dwight School Seoul. From 2015-2018 she was President of the Seoul International Women’s Association (SIWA), Korea's longest-running international organization. While President, she launched the SIWA Philanthropy Project, creating an impactful giving structure addressing social issues in Korea. A three-year grantmaking scheme was established to award an alternative middle school to benefit the education of multicultural students. She is a former independent education management consultant, having advised students and parents on personal development, academic programs, and college admissions process. Anne is a tireless advocate for underserved and underrepresented students. She mentored at-risk inner-city students in Washington, DC with CASA DC (Court Appointed Special Advocate). She has been an English-speaking mentor at a multicultural middle school in Seoul since arriving in Korea in 2014. She is an active member of the Korean Women’s International Network’s (KOWIN) Washington, DC Chapter. Founded by the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, KOWIN is a global professional organization for women of Korean heritage. She served on the Foreign Investment Advisory Council for the Mayor of Seoul from 2015-2018.
Mr. Jun ho Jeon (전준호)
Special Major Advisor for External Strategy, Incheon Metropolitan City
Jun Ho Jeon is Special Major Advisor for External Strategy in Incheon Metropolitan City. He is in charge of advising Incheon on global business, external cooperation, and external strategies. He has served as in a number of leadership positions, including Incheon Metropolitan City Special Major Advisor for Foreign Investment and Special Major Advisor for External Cooperation, Registered Director of the Incheon Tourism Organization, Association Chairman of the Korea Economic Cooperation, the social forum Chairman, and CEO, Weekly People Press Publishing. He has been a special advisor to Incheon Metropolitan City since 2016. He is acting as a coordinator for cooperation and social contribution between Incheon Metropolitan City and group companies.
Mr. Charles Kim
Director, Seoul Office, Fairfax Economic Development Corporation
Charles Kim currently serves as the Representative of Fairfax County Economic Development Authority in Korea. He performs this role in his capacity as President of the Korea Business Consulting Corporation. He is a seasoned bilingual professional with over twenty years experience handling business development on behalf of US clients in the Korean market and Korean clients in the US market. He has a proven capability in the arena of identifying and cultivating investment prospects for target US locations. Prior to founding the Korea Business Consulting Corporation, He served as the director of US Asia Commercial Development Corporation, a US company specializing in business development and marketing for foreign corporations and organizations in Northeast Asia, with Korea a primary market focus.
Mr. Hyun Tae Kim (김현태)
Director, Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking
Hyun Tae Kim has been working for Citibank Korea since 1995. Since 2016, he has been promoted to Director status, and is currently serving in its corporate banking sector as a senior relationship manager for SK, Lotte, and the Hanwha group. Between 2010 and 2014 he worked in Shanghai for Citibank China at its Korea desk. There, he supported the successful growth of large Korean corporation in China. He graduated Yonsei University with a major in business administration and earned a master’s degree in financial engineering from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Mr. Sang Ok Lim (임상옥)
Franchise Technical Director, EA(Electronic Arts) Korea Studio
Sang Ok Lim is Franchise Technical Director for Electronic Art’s FIFA Online. A member of senior director, he also represents the engineer group at the EA Korea Studio. He joined EA in 2011 as a software engineer and subsequently became SE lead for BattleField Online, SE lead for FIFA Online 3, Technical director for FIFA Online 3, Studio Technical Director, and finally Franchise Technical Director. He has established at EA Korea Studio solid engineering processes for game development in order to deliver stable, high-quality games with better game play experiences. He has building up strong team culture in game development. Partnering with top game developers and publishers such as Nexon, Tencent, and Garena, he is experienced in managing technical issues from game service in the Asia market. He earned his BS in Computer Science from George Mason University. He earned his MS from KAIST(Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), where he did research on AI and computer vision.
Mr. Sam Machour
Senior Vice President / CQO, Samsung Biologics
Sam is currently Senior Vice-President and Chief Quality Officer of Samsung Biologics, one of the largest biologics development and manufacturing (CDMO) companies in the world. Prior to joining Samsung Biologics, Sam Machour spent more than 32 years helping mid-size and large MedTech, bioscience and biopharmaceutical companies deliver on their mission to transform and save lives around the world. Sam held a variety of senior and global leadership positions in some of the world’s largest bio-pharmaceutical companies amongst which the Swiss Lonza, Pfizer, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Becton Dickinson and Boehringer Ingelheim. Sam’s passion to help others out of poverty, get basic healthcare and education, spans most of his career. In 2007, while at Harvard, Sam launched Executives Without Borders, today one of the largest not-for profit volunteer based organization connecting non-profit and business and helping NGO’s around the globe accelerate and maximize the delivery of social value. Sam Machour holds a Master’s degree from Concordia University in Physics, is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, The J.F Kennedy School of Government, The Harvard Medical School and is a member of several advisory boards, public and private.
Professor Chul-Gyoo Park
Chair, Korea Conflict Mediation Arbitration Group
Professor Chul-Gyoo Park is Adjunct Professor at The Graduate School of Global Cooperation, Hallym University and Chairman of the Korea Conflict Mediation Arbitration Group. He holds a JSD, the equivalent of a doctoral degree in legal education, from the Law School at Washington University, and an LLM from the Law School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds, additionally, an MPA from the Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Incheon Global Campus Foundation as an American attorney. From 1990 to 2019 he was counsel to the secretariat of the Korea National Assembly. He retired as the highest-ranking public official (deputy minister). He serves as a member and in leadership positions on four boards related to arbitration.
Mr. Sung Yong (Jackie) Ro (노승룡)
Deputy Director, Presidential Security Service
Sung Yong (Jackie) Ro is a professional specialist in national security and protective missions for the Korean presidents and foreign dignitaries as well as a variety of international and multicultural events which represents volatile dynamics of international relations. In addition, he is a graduate of and a peace-building practitioner from from George Mason University’s Carter School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. He is currently serving the South Korean government as its Deputy Director of the Presidential Security Service (PSS) of the Republic of Korea, on which he has served over 23 years, beginning in 1997 as a junior agent. His primary objective as a national security specialist has been to prevent, manage, and resolve any kinds of conflict, violence or threats from domestic or international terrorism to the dignitaries under his protection. His sense of vocation and curiosity lead him to seek a better understanding the core nature of violence and terrorism through the study of conflict analysis and its resolution. His son is currently continuing the George Mason University family tradition as a business major at Mason Korea.
Mr. Matthew Shampine
Co-founder and CEO of DNK
Matt is the co-founder and CEO of DNK, a proptech startup focused on building the property management system (PMS) for the APAC market. DNK has raised over $30M USD to-date from investors in Korea, Silicon Valley, and NYC. Prior to founding DNK, he was an early WeWork team member and co-founded WeWork Labs - WeWork’s startup incubator with over 100 locations on five continents. In 2015, as a member of a 3-person team he helped lead WeWork’s expansion in Asia and Australia as Managing Director, APAC and relocated to Korea in 2018 to assume the role of General Manager for WeWork Korea. Matt was an International Strategy Forum 2023 Asia Fellow with Schmidt Futures, currently serves on the Advisory Board for George Mason University Korea, and is an honorary mentor for the 6th annual Bluebird Program for Holt Children's Welfare Center. Additionally, he is an active angel investor and runs the WeWork Alumni Fund. He graduated from The College of New Jersey with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science.
Professor Jisoo Yi
Specialist in International Trade at Dankook University
Jisoo Yi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Trade at Dankook University. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Commerce at Hoseo University. She is the author of scholarly articles on trade regulation, facilitation, and dispute settlement. She worked for many years professionally in the field of international trade, as a certified customs consultant. She is currently a member of the Korean Commission for Corporate Partnership under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Public Administration Committee under the Korea Customs Service, the Customs Review Committee under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Committee for Taxation Development under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. She holds her MA and PhD from the University of Canberra (Australia) in International Trade, and her BA in English Education for Ewah Womans University.
Ms. Tracy Comstock
Principal Broker and President of SilverLine Realty & Investment
Tracy Comstock is Principal Broker and President of SilverLine Realty & Investment. 2018 Realtor® of the Year, she brings to her work more than 20 years of industry experience. Licensed in Virginia, Maryland and D.C., Tracy specializes in commercial, residential and international real estate. She is active in several other organizations, including her roles as the President of Korean American Women’s Chamber of Commerce USA, an advisor for Jae-In Moon, South Korea President for the National Unification Advisory Council, and a founding member of the Asian Real Estate Association of America. She was the first Korean Realtors® elected to serve on the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® Board of Directors, from 2013-2018, and numerous other regional Realtors® and housing committees. She is a Virginia Real Estate Board licensed instructor for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors®, teaching continuing education, pre-licensing and post-licensing courses. Her passions away from work include traveling, hiking, and volunteering for her sons’ school activities.
Ms. So Jung Lim
Member, Fairfax City Council
So Jung Lim is serving her second term on the Fairfax City Council, to which she was first elected in 2018. She has been very active in the Northern Virginia community, having served as the 38th President of the Korean American Association of the Washington Metropolitan Area from 2015 to 2016 and as Vice President for years before. So Jung serves on the board of George Mason University's School of Arts and as a member of the steering committee for the that school’s annual "Arts by George" scholarship event, which raises yearly over $200,000 in scholarship funds for Mason's arts students. Since 1992, So Jung has owned and operated an insurance agency that provides insurance services such as property and casualty, life and health, and retirement products. Her agency, located in the heart of City of Fairfax, has grown to become one of the largest insurance agencies in Northern Virginia. So Jung is recognized by her peers in the industry, having received numerous awards, such as President’s Awards, Championship Awards, Community Service Awards, and Top Producer Award in Commercial & Financial products.
Mr. Sang K. Park
Partner at Moon, Park & Associates
Sang K. Park graduated from Seoul National University College of Law (1979) and its law school with an LL.M. in International Law (1981), and from George Washington University, National Law Center with an LL.M. in Comparative Law (1983) and International Law (1985). He is admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. Mr. Park has since 1992 been a partner of the law firm, Moon, Park & Associates located in Annandale, Virginia, with primary practice in commercial real estate, landlord and tenant law, labor law, immigration law and conflicts between US and Korean law. A strong supporter of the US Korean community, Mr. Park served for fifteen years as a legal counsel for the Korean American Association of Washington Metropolitan Area and for the Korean American Grocers’ Association of Greater Washington. He was a founder of Advocates for the Rights of Korean Americans, an advocacy organization supported by 1st and 2nd generation Korean immigrants, and later served as its executive director. He served as a member of the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2001. In 2018 he completed a term as the president of Korean CBMC of North America, which represents North American Korean Christian businessmen.
Mr. Harold Pyon
Deputy Commissioner, Virginia Department of Labor and Industry
Mr. Harold Pyon currently serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry. He has provided leadership for many years in the area of technology as a Senior Patent Division Group Manager at the US Patent & Trademark Office, where he worked over four decades, and, in 2006 to 2007, as a Senior Advisor to the US Under Secretary for Technology Administration. He was a member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Board of Visitors (Trustees) from 1998 to 2004 and twice a member of the Fairfax County Park Authority Board from 1992 to 1997 and 2010 to 2014. He has volunteered in many community service organizations, including as current Chair of Government Affairs for the Korean American Community Services Center of Greater Washington. From 2000 to 2015 he was that organization’s Chairman of the Board. He has a BS in Chemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Additionally, he has earned graduate certificates in the law and in public administration.