ABOUT
Global Humanitarian Engagement, Inc was founded in 2013 as a way for experts and young professionals to convene and meet to discuss ideas and experiences in the humanitarian field. Starting in 2013, there have been five conferences focused directly regionally on the Korean peninsula, which has generated a robust ecosystem of professionals in medicine, public health, law, economics, and business. Through focused volunteering efforts in these areas, GHE has generated:
-Online courses on health that was offered for course credit by the University of Turku
-Online course on economics
-Workshops on medical education, agriculture, water quality, and tuberculosis
-In-depth Q&A and panel sessions with nonprofit leaders from US, Europe and South Korea
-Career development workshops
-Translated TB Guide for Nonprofits in collaboration with Partners in Health that was offered in Korean
OUR TEAM
Below is our dedicated team of volunteers.
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Ye jin Kang
Founder and Director
Ye jin holds a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutional Biology, a BA in Policy Studies and a minor in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University. She received her medical degree from Harvard and completed pediatric residency training at UT Southwestern. She is an assistant instructor currently examining the humoral immune response in pediatric TB which is supported by the UTSW Training Resident Doctors as Innovators in Science (TARDIS) Program funded by a Burroughs Wellcome Physician Scientist Institutional Award. She is an aspiring physician policymaker, and her aim is to help improve North Korea’s healthcare system. Ye jin taught a course at Rice called ‘Demystifying DPRK’ under the academic supervision of former Rice President Malcolm Gillis. From mid-2014 to early-2015, she served as Program Director in the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology Division of Medical Sciences. Having felt a calling to study TB as it is prevalent in the DPRK, much of her health work has been on studying TB holistically. She has done basic science, anthropology, and policy research on TB, and has done community volunteer work on TB in India.Her interests outside of medicine include her family, traveling, and scuba diving.
Jeremy Whaley
Managing Director
I have graduated with a Master in Public Health from The College of New Jersey with a concentration in global health. I have worked for health departments at both a local and state level. My interest in Korean culture stemmed from my training in Taekwondo which I have earned a 5th degree black belt in. Throughout my years of training I met many masters who came from Keimyung University and gained an appreciation for the culture which eventually led me to learn the language. For many years I have attended Korean language school at what is now my church and been able to practise with the masters. Through these same years up until now I have been blessed enough to teach not only Taekwondo, but Sunday School and the beginner Korean classes. In 2016, I took the opportunity to go to South Korea to study abroad and got first hand exposure to Korean culture. From the sights to the people I gained a greater understanding of the mindset and daily life. The culmination of all my experiences and interactions resulted in my desire to work towards bridging the gap between the US and the DPRK whose relationship exists in the in a foregone era. By working on US-DPRK relations my hope is to set help set the stage for a lasting peace on the peninsula.
Angela Song
Senior Accounting Officer
Angela Song is senior associate at Ernst & Young, a multinational professional services firm. She is a certified public accountant and holds a BS from Boston College, where she studied accounting and international relations. While earning her degree, Angela spent six months at the University of Hong Kong studying East Asian affairs and operations management. After attending educational events on North Korea, Angela aspires to expand her learning and her contribution to aid efforts in the region. Angela is fluent in Chinese and enjoys visiting her original hometown of Beijing. In addition to traveling, Angela can be found food-blogging, studying Korean, and organizing events with her Pan-Asian professional organization.
Gareth Jones
Health Program Associate
Gareth Jones is a global health professional with deep experience working in the UN system, focusing on engagement with and supporting the leadership of local communities for realising the SDGs, with a particular focus on SDG 3. He has managed multi-country projects for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and has supported community engagement in multilateral processes as well as member states in negotiations under the auspices of the UN General Assembly. He has advised WHO on community engagment, and is Vice Chair of the Partner Engagement in Countries Committee at the Parternship for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), focusing on realisation of global commitments relating to women's, children's and adolescents' health at the country level. He holds a BSc (Hons) degree, an MPH in International Development, and is also a PRINCE2-qualified project manager.
Jonathan Binder
Policy Associate
Jonathan Binder is a research associate at an agricultural startup striving to encourage ecologically-responsible fertilizer application. He holds an M.S. in agronomy from Penn State and his research focused on nutrient management for food and turf production. He graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in environmental studies. His undergraduate thesis was an examination of challenges to food production in the DPRK. It is his goal to improve food security around the world.
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Nathan Lee
Health Program Associate
Nathanael ( Nate) Lee is an aspiring physician-scientist who is currently enrolled in the combined MD/PhD dual-degree program, pursuing medical training at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and doctorate training at the National Institutes of Health through the Graduate Partnership Program. Nate graduated from Rice University with BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, BA in Cognitive Sciences, and BA in Psychology. Throughout his undergraduate and graduate training periods, Nate developed a deep interest in medical and healthcare-associated outreach programs. He currently serves as the Outreach Committee Chair of Society for Neuroscience DC Metro Area Chapter. Nate is also an avid photographer and a dedicated musician, and constantly seeks out opportunities to apply these passions in outreach settings.