David Lee, who is advancement director at Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates and a Hope College graduate, will present the college’s 2024 Asian Heritage Lecture on Tuesday, April 9, at 4 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The annual lecture series seeks to enhance awareness of the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. Featuring the theme “Hope in the Middle: Diversity and Inclusion in the Eyes of a 2000s Alumnus,” this year’s lecture will reflect on Lee's identity as a Korean-American immigrant with deep ties to the Reformed Church in America; how those ties informed his faith; and foundational experiences while he was enrolled at Hope from 2004 to 2009. For Lee, Hope is a place and people committed to walking the difficult middle road between many forces, including justice, free speech, academia and faith communities. The lecture will connect moments between the lives of students on the margins with Hope’s decisions that he notes continue to shape the present and future of building a place of welcoming and belonging.
The doors will open at 3:45 p.m. There will also be an opportunity for the audience to participate in a question-and-answer panel discussion following the presentation.
The lecture is being presented by the college’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary and is incorporating the theme throughout the 2024 Diversity Lecture Series. CDI is using the 2024 Diversity Lecture Series to celebrate and honor those who have put their time and effort into creating a diverse and inclusive community at Hope. The celebration will continue after the summer break with presentations scheduled across the 2024 fall semester.
“Our theme for this time of celebration and reflection is ‘40 years of Belonging and Growing Together: 1984-2024,’” said Jevon Willis, director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. “Utilizing CDI’s distinctive diversity spring and fall lecture series, each lecture will focus on the legacy of work and personal experiences connected with past and present leaders of CDI at Hope College.”
Lee is driven to build a community that grows more just, equitable and open to opportunity, which can best foster others who are living within the uniquely multicultural experiment that is the United States. He currently serves as codirector and advancement director at Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates, a nonprofit immigration law office and advocacy center in Holland.
Born in South Korea, he immigrated in 1992 with his family to New Jersey, where his father earned an M.Div. at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. As Lee grew up in New Jersey, his home was located between an RCA church and the city’s largest Jewish temple. After graduating from Hope, Lee went on to earn a Master of Music degree from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois, before returning to live and work in Holland at Community Action House for nearly seven years.
He joined the LIA family in the summer of 2021. He is excited to bring experiences in volunteer management, fundraising, marketing, project management, data analysis, and a life-long learner’s curiosity to LIA.
Outside of LIA, Lee serves as a board member with Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance and most recently was elected president of the Lakeshore United Rotaract Club, and he has also served on the board of Holland/Zeeland Young Professionals and the Holland Museum's DEI Committee. In previous years also served as a youth orchestra conductor, classical violist and chamber musician.
The lecture is being presented by the college’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion in collaboration with the Asian Student Union, the Office of Culture and Inclusive Excellence, GROW Diversity Council, and Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.