THE KOREA SOCIETY

The Hon. John Katko (R-NY, 2015-2023) served Central New York in Congress from 2015 until his retirement in 2022. John currently serves as a Senior Advisor with HillEast Group, a government affairs and strategic communications firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and New York. Early in his career in Congress, John became a strong voice on the House Homeland Security Committee. In 2020, he was selected to lead House Homeland Security Committee Republicans. As Ranking Member, John led efforts to secure the border and prioritized a robust focus on cybersecurity, as well as transportation and airport security. Additionally, John served eight years as a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. While serving New York's 24th Congressional District, John achieved significant legislative success, with 98 bills passed the House and 45 signed into law. He is well-respected for his work across the aisle and was consistently ranked among the most bipartisan members of Congress by the nonpartisan Lugar Center. As Chair of the Republican Governance Group, John was responsible for expanding political engagement with results-oriented Members of Congress. Prior to serving in Congress, John spent nearly twenty years as a federal organized crime prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. Additionally, he served as a litigator with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and as an anti-trust and commercial litigation attorney in private practice.

The Hon. Kathy Manning (D-NC, 2021-2025) represented North Carolina's Sixth Congressional District, which includes Guilford and Rockingham Counties and parts of Forsyth and Caswell Counties -- an area known as the Triad.

Before her election to Congress, Kathy worked to expand access to early childhood education, college scholarships, workforce development, and assistance to those in need through nonprofit organizations including the United Way, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, the National Conference for Community and Justice, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has also worked tirelessly on major projects to revitalize downtown Greensboro and spur economic development, including the building of a state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center. Kathy was the first woman to chair the Board of the Jewish Federations of North America, one of the largest charitable, faith-based organizations in the world, which provides assistance to communities in need around the world.

As a member of the Education and Labor Committee, Kathy was a strong advocate for early childhood education and investments in school infrastructure and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Kathy worked to increase access to vocational and technical education and apprenticeship opportunities while making higher education more affordable. As Vice Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and former Vice Chair of the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee, Kathy was a vocal advocate for democracy and maintaining strong relationships with United States' allies, including Israel and Ukraine. She is also a strong advocate for the rights of women and girls around the world, including access to reproductive health care. In addition to her leadership on the Education and Labor and Foreign Affairs Committees, Kathy served as the Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism and a member of the New Democrat Coalition, where she chaired the Workforce Development Task Force. Kathy is also recognized for her leadership on making health care, including mental health services, more accessible and affordable.

Kathy graduated from Harvard University and the University of Michigan Law School. She practiced law in Washington, DC, before moving to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1987, with her husband Randall Kaplan, a lawyer and business entrepreneur who has experience running a large international business as well as small startups. After serving as a partner at a large law firm, Kathy started her own small law firm specializing in immigration law. Kathy and Randall have three married children and three grandchildren who all live in New York City.

Dr. Abraham Kim, Ph.D. is the President & CEO of The Korea Society, where he leads the organization's efforts to strengthen ties between the United States and Korea through policy dialogue, business engagement, and cultural exchange. Dr. Kim brings more than 25 years of experience in public policy, national security, and nonprofit leadership, with a career focused on U.S.–Korea relations and Northeast Asia. He has worked closely with senior government officials, business leaders, and international organizations, providing analysis and guidance on geopolitical and economic issues related to the Korean Peninsula. Prior to joining The Korea Society, Dr. Kim served as Executive Director & President of the Council of Korean Americans (CKA), where he expanded the organization's national footprint and strengthened its role in policy engagement and leadership development. He previously served as Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana and as Interim President and Vice President of the Korea Economic Institute of America, where he supported public diplomacy initiatives and educational programs focused on the U.S.–Korea alliance. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kim worked as a policy and risk analyst at Eurasia Group, CSIS, and SAIC, focusing on political risk, crisis simulations, and regional security issues in Northeast Asia. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Boston University.