Daniel Park, Parent Board Member

Dan is from Madison, WI and is a second-generation Korean-American. After attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a degree in Biology, he worked as a research scientist studying gene therapy and stem cells. He then returned to school to receive his bachelor’s in nursing and worked as a surgical and trauma intensive care unit nurse for four years. He is now attending the University of Minnesota as a doctoral student in Nurse Anesthesia. Dan is enthusiastic about Sejong’s mission to share Korean language and culture with students of all backgrounds while promoting a rigorous and welcoming school environment. His daughter is a current lower school student at Sejong Academy. Contact Daniel at dpark@sejongacademy.org

Donna Phillips, Parent Board Member

Donna is a first-generation West Indian American, born in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised in Minnesota and in New York City. She studied dance all of her life and is a professional dancer. She graduated from the Minnesota Center for Arts Education and moved back to New York City to study with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She raised her children in Arizona surrounded by beautiful mountains, colorful sunsets and wild horses. She is gifted and talented in many areas. She has a Bachelor's degree in theology, movement therapy and is a certified doula. Donna is a successful life-long entrepreneur, who understands the value of hard work and that life isn’t always going to be a walk in the park. She is passionate about children, education, the arts, business, leadership and working in a diverse community that values people and helping others. Contact Donna at: dphillips@sejongacademy.org

Erik Funk, Community Board Member

Erik grew up in Evanston, Illinois and moved to Minnesota in 1992 to attend Hamline University where he studied Sociology and History. A lifelong Entrepreneur, Erik has owned and operated his own businesses for more than 25 years, most notably in the hospitality and live music industries. Currently he is an active real estate investor focusing on commercial investment property. He has adopted two sons from Korea, both of whom attended Sejong Academy. Erik was involved in the Sejong parent community for a number of years and served as President of the Sejong Academy Parent Teacher Organization previously. Contact Erik at efunk@sejongacademy.org

Grace Lee, Board Chair and Community Board Member

Grace is a second generation Korean American, born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. She has over 20 years of experience in both profit and non-profit organizations - Fortune 500 companies, the local church, local schools, government, community groups and social service organizations.  She was appointed by Governors Dayton and Walz to serve on the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans. Grace is proud to be one of the founding board members of Sejong Academy and is grateful to have watched Sejong’s students, staff and school community grow in many ways. Contact Grace at glee@sejongacademy.org

Thomas Caron, Community Board Member

Thomas is a former Sejong Academy teacher. Contact Thomas at tcaron@sejongacademy.org

Hoonseok Oh, Teacher Board Member

Mr. Oh is a middle school/high school science teacher at Sejong. He spent 5 years of his childhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan and moved back to South Korea at the age of 10. He studied science education in his undergraduate courses and learned physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and instructional methods in science. He spent 2 years doing research during undergrad studies. He made two sky-blue phosphorescent iridium compounds and successfully received publication of his research paper in Bulletin of the KCS (Korean Chemical Society), which is one of SCI (Science Citation Index) in Korea. His paper can be found here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bkcs.11334 . Mr. Oh was a soldier in the Republic of Korea Army and rose to a sergeant by the end of his military service. He worked in a public middle school in South Korea as a homeroom teacher and science teacher. He designed a lot of experiments to help his students understand scientific concepts. He likes to collaborate with his students and encourage them to share their thoughts. Contact Hoonseok at hoh1@sejongacademy.org

Karen Hong, Teacher Board Member

Karen is a second-generation Korean American from the Chicagoland area of Illinois. She has been with our school since its establishment in 2014. Karen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from DePaul University, specializing in Management Information Systems and Marketing. Her career began as a business and financial analyst at a Fortune 500 company. She played a pivotal role in launching a 5000 sq. ft Japanese Restaurant, utilizing her expertise in small businesses, marketing, and her Illinois real estate license. Karen then oversaw operations as General Manager. 

Following the birth of her three children, Karen's classroom experiences and insights into cultural and generational gaps, shaped by her upbringing with immigrant-refugee parents in the U.S., ignited a passion for education. She has served as a substitute teacher across St. Paul and Minneapolis schools, spent three years as Sejong’s PTO President, and contributed as an Americorp alumni, then Reading Corps program supervisor for seven years. For the past eight years, Karen has been dedicated to Sejong as a licensed Library Media Specialist, and she is currently pursuing a master's degree in educational leadership.  

Brad Tipka, Ed.D., School Executive Director and Ex-Officio Board Member

Brad is an educator with over twenty years of experience as a teacher, teacher-trainer and school leader. He studied K-12 English Education/ESL at St. Cloud State, completed his Master’s in TESOL at the School for International Training and his Ed.D. from the University of St. Thomas is Educational Leadership.  Prior to Sejong Academy, Brad was Director of Lincoln International High School in Minneapolis. He has also served as an Instructional Specialist/Coach at Noble Academy in Minneapolis. Brad spent five years teaching in Korea including positions at Dong A University in Busan and Seoul National University of Technology. Brad also served as an English Language Teaching Fellow with the US Department of State for three years in Indonesia and Malaysia. Brad believes in the transformational power of intercultural experience and language study. He is passionate about Korean language and culture and believes the study of Korean language and culture will be an amazing educational option for students in Minnesota.  Contact Brad at: btipka@sejongacademy.org