John Choe
Revson Fellow 2003-2004
Legislative Director; Co-Founder
Office of Council Member John C. Liu; Nodutdol for Korean Community Development
John Choe currently serves in the New York City Council as Legislative Director to Council Member John C. Liu. Before the City Council, Mr. Choe served in various capacities in city government and the nonprofit sector, including: Senior Analyst for Audit & Enforcement and Director of Operations for Adjudications at the New York City Department of Finance; Research Associate with the New York City Rent Guidelines Board; Development Consultant for the Rainbow Center, a shelter and community center for Korean women in Queens; and, Assistant Program Officer, and later a Consultant, with the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a nonprofit intermediary that provides financial and technical assistance for community groups building supportive housing for people who are homeless with special needs. Mr. Choe is also an active community member. In 1999, he co-founded Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, which seeks to empower and unite the Korean people through grassroots organizing projects and community development initiatives. In conjunction with Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, Nodutdol recently completed the first comprehensive needs assessment of undocumented Korean immigrants and is currently in the process of establishing a health clinic and a public school for low-income immigrant families in Queens. Mr. Choe has also been actively involved with the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities), Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA), and the Coalition of Minority Policy Professionals (CoMPP). Born in Seoul, Korea, Mr. Choe graduated from Susan E. Wagner High School on Staten Island and received a bachelor’s degree in history from Binghamton University. In 1992, Mr. Choe became a Woodrow Wilson National Fellow in Public Affairs & International Relations and received a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Chicago in 1995. After returning from Chicago, Mr. Choe became a Fellow in Public Affairs with the Coro New York Leadership Center, where he managed consulting projects with the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, UNITE!, Molinari for District Attorney, First Security Corporation, New Jersey Online, Fresh Youth Initiatives, and the New York City Public Advocate’s Office. As a Revson Fellow, Mr. Choe will take courses in history, urban studies, and urban planning to gain insight into current policy issues regarding development in New York City.
(The Revson Fellow’s biography that appears above was last updated in 2003. Revson Fellows may update their biographies on this site by sending email to: revson@columbia.edu)
Revson’s greatest benefit to me was the opportunity to learn and grow professionally with a diverse group of spirited, contentious, challenging, and stimulating peers whose only common denominator was a commitment to make New York City a better place.
