Jennie joined the New Life Church staff in 2021, relocating to Urbana-Champaign area from Chicago and Wisconsin. Having been born and raised in South Korea, Jennie earned a bachelor’s degree in English language and a master’s degree in early childhood education from Chung-Ang University. After graduation, she spent three years teaching English at an international school in South Korea. Jennie and her husband found God’s calling for campus ministry and pursued further education in the United States. Jennie earned a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Wisconsin-Madison. During her PhD, she worked as a literacy interventionist at a community center, a teaching assistant at an elementary school, and an Infant and Toddler Ministry director at the Korean Presbyterian Church of Madison in Wisconsin. Moving to Chicago, Jennie served as a youth group teacher at Hebron Presbyterian Church and a kids ministry director at the Church of Bethlehem. Through her experience serving in the Korean immigrant church and also working with immigrant parents and second generation Korean-American youth and children, she strongly values roles of church to build a strong partnership with immigrant parents based on faith and trust and to create diverse channels for communication between parents and children. She and her husband, Chulhoon, have three kids, Matthew, Madison, and Mark and reside in Champaign, IL.