Founded in December 1983 as the Korean Community Development Services Center, the SoHi Center has supported new immigrants, low-income families, seniors, tenants, and students through neighborhood services for more than 40 years.
The Center was founded in December 1983 to uplift Upper North Philadelphia. Today it provides essential services to new immigrants, helps residents with naturalization and benefit enrollment, offers affordable housing support for low-income families, and operates an early learning center.
The mission remains practical and local: support people in need, help families understand the next step, and build a stronger, more resilient community.
SoHi Center's mission is to empower individuals and families in Upper North Philadelphia by providing essential services and support. The team helps new immigrants navigate their journey and helps low-income families access vital resources. Through compassion and commitment, the Center strives to create lasting change and a sense of belonging.
The vision is a thriving Upper North Philadelphia community where every resident has the opportunity to succeed and prosper. The Center works toward a future where families have access to safe housing, quality education, and the resources needed to achieve their goals.
More than four decades of service assisting thousands of individuals and families.
Housing assistance, immigrant support, social services, and early childhood education under one roof.
A dedicated team focused on relationships, local knowledge, and the needs of each family.
Board members and community leaders provide oversight, institutional memory, and cross-sector experience.
Leadership histories matter here because the Center's trust has been built over decades of family service, neighborhood work, housing experience, education leadership, and public-sector partnerships.
Don serves as Executive Director of SoHi Center. His professional experience spans strategic partnerships and fundraising, legal issues, board relations, financial sustainability, governance, and politics.
Before joining the Center, Don served as Chief Strategy and Product Officer at Scholarship America, the largest nonprofit provider of scholarships in the United States. He also served as Chief Operating Officer for former First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative and as Vice President for Applied Policy and Advancement at Common App.
Earlier in his career, Don served as a political appointee in the Obama Administration, including Chief Transformation Officer at the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Education and Special Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
He also worked as an attorney representing public school districts before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. Before law, he was a high school English teacher and coach in suburban Philadelphia.
Lynn has worked at Rising Sun Children's Center for eight years and was previously one of SoHi Center's affordable housing clients. She began as the lead teacher in the PreK Counts classroom and was promoted to Director in 2022.
Lynn is a first-generation immigrant from Vietnam and a first-generation college student. She speaks three languages fluently.
Arion Whyte has served with the Center for over 10 years as Housing Director and Development Consultant, supporting the preservation, compliance, and modernization of affordable housing across Philadelphia.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a minor in chemistry, maintains OSHA certifications, and completed plumbing and electrical training through the Center in support of his work as a general contractor.
Raised in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood and a graduate of Cheltenham High School, Arion brings technical expertise and long-standing community ties to the Center's housing and development initiatives.
Soo Whang is listed as a Social Worker with the Center, supporting neighbors who need help understanding benefits, documents, referrals, and everyday service questions.
The social-services team works with seniors, families, and immigrant residents who need practical guidance close to home.
Lorena Salazar serves as Bookkeeper and Office Manager and has been a valued member of the team for nearly four years. A first-generation immigrant from Colombia, Lorena brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her role.
Her connection to the organization is deeply personal. Her daughter attended Rising Sun Children's Center for several years, and members of her family have received immigration services through the Center's programs.
Lorena plays a vital role in accounting processes, including closing the books each month and supporting annual audits. Her dedication, attention to detail, and understanding of the communities served help the organization operate with integrity and efficiency.
Dr. Jin Hung Yu grew up poor in a small Koreatown in rural Manchuria. His father was a logger, and he was the youngest of seven children. During the Korean War, he was drafted into the Republic of Korea Army and later served as a translator for a U.S. colonel.
He moved to Seoul in 1955 for college. After a nearly three-day journey, he arrived in Seattle on January 20, 1961, the same day President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office. Kennedy's call to public service helped shape his future.
Working full time during the day and attending classes at night, Dr. Yu graduated from Wake Forest in 1963, became a U.S. citizen in 1974, and completed his PhD at Temple in 1979.
In December 1983, he co-founded the Korean Community Development Services Center with Mr. Moo Yoo. The organization was originally established to help newly arrived Asian immigrants adjust to life in the United States, then evolved to serve tens of thousands of low-income clients from many backgrounds.
Board-vetted lifetime impact includes approximately 4,500 immigration clients served, 5,500 social-services clients served, 3,000 students served through early learning, and approximately 60 low-income families housed today.
His awards include the Philadelphia Human Rights Award, the Community Service Award from the Philadelphia Refugee Center, the Community Leadership Award from the Mayor of Philadelphia, the Prudential Insurance Company Leadership Award, the La Salle University Community Service Award, and certificates of appreciation from Asian Health Projects and the City of Philadelphia.
Ethan leverages his prior experience as a teacher and principal to help schools, districts, and states meet the expectations of college and career ready standards.
He advises educational leaders at all levels to build innovative systems that drive school improvement and student success. In prior roles, he led school turnaround projects, helped new schools open, and led a three-year Race to the Top grant for a consortium of DC public and charter schools focused on Common Core implementation.
Before SchoolKit, Ethan was a principal of elementary and high schools in Brooklyn. He began his career as a New York Teaching Fellow in a bilingual middle school classroom in the Bronx and later worked as a resource room teacher in a Brooklyn high school.
He has an Ed.D. in Administration of Special Education Programs from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA from Dartmouth College. He lives in Mt. Airy.
Mr. Stafford is Executive Director of West Oak Lane Community Development Corporation, overseeing day-to-day operations for the agency.
He has a history as a certified housing counselor at West Oak Lane CDC and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. West Oak Lane CDC was established in 1980 and provides comprehensive housing counseling services to residents of Philadelphia and surrounding counties.
The agency serves approximately 400-500 clients per year through pre-purchase, post-purchase, foreclosure prevention, pre-loan, rental, consumer education, credit, and financial literacy counseling. Its mission is to create and maintain homeownership by providing quality housing counseling services.
Ralph E. Blanks is pastor of Vine Memorial Baptist Church, where Rev. Dr. James S. Allen, Sr. is pastor emeritus. Rev. Blanks previously served as pastor of Harry Hosier, Mother African Zoar, and Janes United Methodist churches, and as Central District Superintendent.
His commitment to holistic ministry has led him to work with Prudential Insurance Company of America, Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity, North Philadelphia Health System, Korean Community Development Corporation, First Hospital Foundation, Greater Philadelphia Health Action, and the City of Philadelphia's Fair Housing Commission.
His honors include the Community Spirit Award from African American Interdenominational Ministries, the Past President's Award from Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity, the Human Rights Award from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, Preacher of the Year from Black United Methodist Preachers, the Outstanding Service to Community and Church Award from Philadelphia City Council, and the Liberty Bell Award from the City of Philadelphia.
Rev. Blanks holds a Master of Divinity from Drew University School of Theology and has pursued postgraduate studies at Princeton University. He earned a bachelor's degree from Hendrix College in Arkansas and a diploma in East Central European Studies from the University of Graz, Austria.
He has traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Korea, Senegal, and Zimbabwe to preach, teach, and work on mission projects. He and his wife, Paula Marie Sharp, have a blended family of six children and eight grandchildren.
Dr. Chung Wha Lee serves as a member of the Board of Directors, contributing oversight and community perspective as the Center carries its Korean Community Development Services Center legacy into the SoHi name.
Moo Yoo co-founded Korean Community Development Services Center with Dr. Jin H. Yu in December 1983 to help newly arrived Asian immigrants adjust to life in Philadelphia.
His co-founding role remains part of the Center's public story as SoHi carries the original service promise forward for every neighbor.
Reverend Dae Young Um first joined the Center as Senior Community Service Employment Program Director in 2001. During 23 years of service, he taught AIDS prevention courses, English as a Second Language classes, and provided benefit enrollment assistance to thousands of new immigrants in the Philadelphia area.
Reverend Um has served as a tireless volunteer for residents in Olney for several decades. He has also served as a pastor at several churches in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, including Canaan Korean Presbyterian Church, Young Sang Korean Presbyterian Church, and Market Square Presbyterian Church.
He graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees from Seoul National University, received a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, and earned a Doctorate of Ministry from Trinity Theological Seminary.
Reverend Um joined the Board of Directors in June 2024.
Adam Ganik is a Vice President and Program Officer for the Goldman Sachs Foundation's 10,000 Small Businesses program, a $750 million commitment that partners with community colleges and community development financial institutions to provide free business education and expand access to capital for small business owners.
Previously, Adam was a Program Officer at the Gates Foundation in the U.S. Postsecondary Success division, where he focused on advancing equitable outcomes at large nonprofit online institutions such as Western Governors University and Arizona State University.
His earlier experience includes roles with Common App's access and equity division and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company, advising foundations and colleges on strategy and operations.
Adam is also a co-founder and board member of Project Own, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that builds tools for housing counseling agencies to expand access to homeownership and help close the racial wealth gap. He is a graduate of Harvard University.