Susun Kim (she/her) is the founding Executive Director of Contra Costa Family Justice Center, a welcoming one-stop support center for children, youth, and adults affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, child and elder abuse, and human trafficking. The Center simplifies the complex system of support for survivors of family violence by providing one location to access criminal, civil, and social services. This helps prevent clients from re-living their trauma by telling their story repeatedly and save time and money by accessing multiple essential services in a single visit. Most importantly, the efficiency, quality, and coordination at the Center allows clients to be safer sooner. Susun oversees four locations where over sixty partners work together to provide a full range of trauma-informed direct services.
Susun grew up under a military dictatorship in South Korea and was part of a generation that yearned for democracy and social change. She graduated from the New York University School of Law in 1991 and has over 15 years of legal aid experience. Her values of advocating for human rights and her background in law led to her calling—providing legal services for clients in need. In addition to leading the Contra Costa Family Justice Center, Susun serves on the steering committee for the Contra Costa County Alliance to End Abuse Initiative and the Measure X Community Advisory Board. She has also served as faculty for national training institutes hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence.
Serving as the founding Executive Director of the Contra Costa Family Justice Center for more than eight years has been both incredibly rewarding and all consuming. Susun says that she “will use this sabbatical to recharge myself, reflect on my work and life, and see what bubbles up.”