Grace Choi is the Founder and CEO of Karis Consulting Group, a national consulting firm that provides community organizing, strategic advising, and coalition building support for AANHPI organizations to empower the voice and capacity of the community. Grace is a community strategist and political leader with over 15 years of experience in community  organizing,  policy, advocacy, diplomacy, international development, and politics, where she has worked closely with high-level government, United Nations, non-profit, and private sector officials in the U.S. and around the world.

 

She is also the Founder of the New York Coalition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Churches, which is part of a national organization formed out of the tragedy of the shootings of Asian American women in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16, 2021 and the rise of anti-Asian racism. The goal of the Coalition is for the Asian American and Pacific Islander church to build partnerships with the local government and communities.

 

Grace is the former Director of Policy in the New York City Mayor's Office, where she led the policy and legislative priorities on mental health, gender equity, and racial inclusion and equity throughout the height of the pandemic. Previously, she served as the Constituency Director for Asian American & Pacific Islander Outreach for the Stacey Abrams for Governor Campaign. She was the Associate Director for Global Gender Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children. She served in President Obama’s Administration as Policy Advisor in the Secretary of State’s Office on Global Women’s Issues and as Staff Assistant in the White House Liaison’s Office at the U.S. Department of State.

 

Prior to her political appointment at the U.S. Department of State, Grace worked for the Council of Korean Americans (CKA), the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) in Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office, the 2013 Presidential Inauguration Committee, President Obama’s 2012 Presidential Campaign, the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Refugee Affairs Division.

 

Grace co-founded and serves as Board President of Korean Americans for Organizing Fund, a national progressive Korean American PAC, and worked on all presidential campaigns since President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign to mobilize the Korean American community. 

 

She is a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, is a Council of Korean Americans Member, was a Member of the White House National Security Leadership Workshop, a Board Member of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security, and served on the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership Board of Directors as Vice Chair for Programs. She holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College.

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Grace was featured in the City & State's 2020 and 2024 Power of Diversity: Asian 100 -- The most influential Asian Americans in New York politics and policy. ​