Our Board of Directors
Connie Busser
President
Connie is a former educator, involved with Public Education for 40 years. She has family ties with Korea through adoption and has volunteered with Families for International Children for over 20 years.
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Deb Havens
Founder
Deb is a documentary filmmaker and screenwriter, owner of Traveling Moon Productions, and is the Founding President of Korean Connection, serving from 2013 until 2015. Deb is connected with Korea through family ties, and remains a member of the Korean Connection Advisory Council.
Kelsey Busser
Vice President
Kelsey received her Bachelor's in Criminal Justice from Grand Valley State University in 2018, and currently works at Intertek.
Susie
Kim
Treasurer
Susie graduated with a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Calvin University. She works as a tax accountant and is actively involved in non-profit organizations, both locally and internationally.
"Han" Seunghwan Oh
Trustee
Han is a Telematics Engineer at LG Corporation. He holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from GVSU and a Master's in I.T. from Virginia Tech. He's served on Korean Connection as a student liaison, language instructor, and now board member.
Trustee
Jenna is the Human Resources Manager at Tekton. She graduated from Cornerstone University with a Bachelor's in Media Studies. She has ties to South Korea from studying and teaching English at Handong Global University.
Joseph
VanArendonk
Trustee
Joseph is the Talent Management (HR) Analyst at Grand Valley State University. He earned his Bachelor's in Business Administration there, and is currently pursuing his MBA as well. He is a Korean-American adoptee, chairs the GVSU Asian Faculty/Staff Association, and serves on the boards of several Michigan organizations.
Ryan Bolhuis
Trustee
Ryan is an award-winning chef and an alumnus of the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, NY. Ryan has worked in some of the most distinguished restaurants in the culinary world from New York to Paris. Ryan, a Hudsonville native and Korean adoptee, now utilizes his 17+ year culinary experience to mentor food and beverage entrepreneurs as the head of the Incubator Kitchen at the Downtown Market Grand Rapids.
Violet Shippert
Trustee
Violet is a Music Therapist working in Michigan. She graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor's in Music Therapy. She is an Asian-American adoptee, and wants to continue to learn and be able to provide opportunities for others, especially adoptees, to learn about their cultures.