A month ago we started our top ten countdown and now we’re into “twenty ten.” We’ve finally arrived at our #1 most influential Korean-American(s) for 2009.  Naturally the most influential people in our lives outside of our parents and friends are the educators, and they touch the lives of many young people.  Margaret Rhee and Jim Yong Kim share the top spot as they find themselves in very distinguished positions: Margaret Rhee is the chancellor of the Washington D.C. public school system and Dr. Jim Yong Kim is the newly minted president of Dartmouth College.

Dr. Jim Yong Kim became the first Korean-American to head up an American university and it happens to be Dartmouth College of the Ivy League. Dr. Kim came to the United States at the age of five, living in the middle of Iowa. Imagine being the only Korean in the Iowa in the 60′s. It sure ain’t Los Angeles of today. Of course he studied hard but he also was a student athlete in high school. Fast forward to today and after a distinguished career in medicine, at the World Health Organization, and at Harvard, Dr. Kim now heads up Dartmouth College. He is leading one of the elite universities and therefore molding the lives of our future generation.

Michelle Rhee is controversial but an innovator because she’s defying the status quo within the Washington D.C. educational system. Prior to arrival, the metrics were abysmal with kids failing out of the system and not coming close to meeting national standards. Ms. Rhee arrived on a mission to not simply reform but to put a jolt into the system by taking a radical approach with teacher evaluations and compensation. It remains to be seen if her changes are effective but she is influencing the direction of not only the Washington D.C. students under her leadership but her approach could radically influence other school systems if they’re found effective.

Michelle Rhee appeared on CNN’s Anderson Coopers 360 this past week. AC chose Michelle Rhee because she’s at the forefront of change and innovation within the educational system.

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