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David Daesoo Kim, PhD, is a psychotherapist and an adjunct faculty member at the Mercer Medical School's Marriage Family Therapy (MFT) program. He is the founder of nonprofit People's Empowerment through Advocacy, Counseling & Education (PEACE) and owner/founder of Research Institute for Counseling & Education (RICE) LLC., located in Atlanta, Georgia.
His clinical, research, and teaching interests include Asian and Pacific Islander American mental health, racial and sexual identities, acculturation, intimate partner violence, men and masculinity, culturally sensitive training and supervision, and working with immigrant populations. He is an avid struggling golfer and enjoys hiking with his life partner Nami.
Dr. David Daesoo Kim
Founder
Kyung-Hwa Kim is the Performance Analysis and Monitoring Manager at the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), where she focuses on performance measurement, project prioritization, scenario planning, and big data analysis. Before joining ARC in 2008, she worked as a modeler at Metro in Portland, Oregon for 20 years.
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She also serves as an elder at Korean Central Presbyterian Church, with her faith guiding her commitment to fostering a supportive and hopeful community. Kyung-Hwa holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Portland State University, and she studied Korean Ethnomusicology at Seoul National University before immigrating to the U.S.
​Kyung Hwa Kim
President
Joanne’s family immigrated to the U.S. in 1981, and as the oldest of five, she faced the challenge of learning a new language at 18. Despite the difficulties, she graduated from the University of Georgia with a graphic arts degree. Family and close friends are central to her, and she finds peace in renovating homes, gardening, and spending time with God through prayer and Bible reading.
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After over 30 years at CBM, Atlanta, Joanne recently retired and is eager to give back. She believes in the power of community support and sees PEACE as a safe haven where people can share their burdens and be uplifted. Joanne is passionate about being part of PEACE to encourage and empower others through their challenges.
Joanne Choe
Head of Finance
Dr. Y. Joon Choi, Ph.D., is the Director and a Professor in the School of Social Work at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Dr. Choi also serves as a Commissioner on the Georgia Commission on Family Violence and is core faculty at the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory (IPRCE). Her scholarship focuses on intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and health disparities, such as cancer and mental health, among immigrant and minority populations, especially developing, implementing, and evaluating socio-culturally appropriate community intervention/prevention strategies.
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Dr. Choi is committed to addressing mental health issues, especially barriers to mental health services, such as lack of health insurance and stigma attached to mental health issues, among Asian American communities. She firmly believes in PEACE’s mission of education, counseling, and advocacy on mental health issues in Asian American communities and is proud of being part of PEACE.
Dr. Yoon Joon Choi
Board Member
Daun Kwag holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Practice from Georgia State University. She is also a graduate of Boston University (MA in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine) and Emory University (BA in English and Violin Performance). Daun is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and serves as a professional counselor at RICE, a Korean-owned private practice that primarily serves the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations. Her clinical, research, education, and advocacy expertise surround AANHPI mental health, migrant experiences, and trauma and meaning-making.
Daun also serves as a board member of PEACE, a non-profit organization that seeks to reduce financial, linguistic, and awareness barriers to culturally-relevant mental health treatment for the AANHPI community. She strongly believes in PEACE's mission, and enthusiastically lends her expertise to further bridge gaps in mental health care and literacy within the AANHPI community.
Dr. Daun Kwag
Board Member
Benjamin Tan is the co-founder of Psyntel, a software company that empowers mental health professionals with AI to modernize, accelerate, and enhance the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Benjamin has almost two decades of investment banking and investing experience from Singapore and holds a first-class degree in accounting. He worked at Oaktree Capital, Credit Suisse, and UBS before relocating to Atlanta in 2021. He is also an investor in the consumer and technology space and the author of the upcoming book Suit Yourself: A Portfolio Strategy for Every Personality Type.
As an Asian immigrant, Benjamin is inspired by P.E.A.C.E’s mission to provide pro bono and culturally appropriate mental health interventions for the AAPI communities in Georgia. In addition to being a board member, he advises the founder, Dr. David Kim, on the financial and operational aspects of P.E.A.C.E. Benjamin currently resides in Brookhaven, Georgia, with his husband and son.
Benjamin Tan
Board Member