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 is a Korean-Adoptee. She received her Bachelor's in Criminal Justice from Grand Valley State University in 2018, and is an Administrative Assistant at Intertek.
Susie
Kim
Treasurer
Susie works as a tax accountant in Grand Rapids and is actively involved in non-profit organizations, both locally and internationally. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Calvin University.
"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 a Human Resources Generalist at Grand Valley State University, which is where he earned his Bachelor's in Business Administration. He is a Korean-American adoptee, chairs the GVSU Asian Faculty/Staff Association, and serves on the boards of several other professional and cultural Michigan organizations.
Mijung (Mia) Matthysse
Trustee
Mia was born and raised in Korea and moved here 4 years ago with her family. She studied French and Film theory and used to work as a private English teacher and a short film distributor in Korea. Here in the US, she is a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway, and previously a barista and a translator. She loves meeting new people, exploring different cultures and learning new things. As a mom of intercultural kids, she hopes to help spread Korean culture to Michigan.
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.
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.
Korean Connection is a non-profit organization in Grand Rapids formed by people who share connections with South Korea through family, friendships, business, culture, curiosity, or history.
We support the exchange of ideas, understanding, appreciation, and support for the close historical and economic ties between the people of Korea, the U.S. and our own state of Michigan.
