Sam Yoon
| Sam Yoon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| At-Large City Councilor, Boston, Massachusetts | |
|
In office 2006–2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Maura Hennigan |
| Succeeded by | Ayanna Pressley and Felix G. Arroyo |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 10, 1970 Seoul, South Korea |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Tina Yoon |
| Children | two |
| Residence | Dorchester |
| Alma mater |
Princeton University Harvard University |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Christian |
| Website | www.samyoon.com |
| Sam Yoon | |
| Hangul | 윤상현 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 尹常賢 |
| Revised Romanization | Yun Sanghyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yun Sanghyǒn |
Sam Yoon (born Yoon Sang-hyun on January 10, 1970) is a former at-large member of the Boston City Council. He currently serves as the executive director for the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations in Washington, DC. He was the first Asian American to hold elected office in Boston. He is a member of the United States Democratic Party.
Born in Seoul, his family moved to the United States when Yoon was ten months old. Raised in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, he became an American citizen at ten years old. He received an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. After graduating, he spent two years teaching math at urban public schools in New Jersey.
He earned a degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While at the Kennedy School, he worked with the Dudley Square Merchants Association to help them earn a Main Street designation.
After graduating from the Kennedy School, Yoon spent time working as a community organizer in Boston, providing housing for low income seniors and individuals coping with mental illnesses.
He later worked at the Community Builders, the nation’s largest non-profit developer. Yoon also spent time working for Abt Associates, a public policy think tank, before becoming the Housing Director for the Asian Community Development Corporation.
In 2005, Yoon became the first person in the history of Boston municipal elections to win an at-large council seat on the first attempt. Yoon won despite having lived in the city only for one year prior to his run. After placing 5th in the preliminary election, Yoon received 14.96% of the vote in the general election, placing third among eight candidates for four positions. Yoon's election was hailed by the local media as an important sign of the emergence of "New Boston", in which the city's traditional insider politics are becoming less important than before.
In his first term, he was praised for his efforts to secure $5 million in funding for programs to prevent youth violence. As a result of Yoon's efforts, hundreds of students rallied in the City Council Chambers during the 2006 budget hearing in support of the funding increases. When the measure was rejected and the students were expelled from the Chambers, Yoon voted against the budget. He also voted in favor of a salary increase for government employees, which he said would make positions more desirable for qualified candidates. The increase, which passed, included raising City Councilors' salaries from $75,000 to $87,500. Critics alleged that he did not regularly attend Wednesday Council meetings.
...
Wikipedia