2021 It’s Time To Talk Race Forum Speaker
2020 Women of Distinction Honoree
Yurie Hong was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. A second-generation Korean American, she grew up in a multigenerational household with her parents, three siblings, grandparents, and an aunt and two cousins. Living in and around Koreatown for most of her life, Yurie attended both private and public schools in various parts of the city with widely differing demographics and resources. Her experience with multiple forms of diversity in a variety of settings fostered an early awareness of the value of diversity as well as the barriers that often persist between groups of people who live and work in close proximity to one another. After receiving her PhD, in 2007, she began teaching at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is currently Chair of the Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies Department and is an active member of the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies program. In early 2017, Yurie founded Indivisible St. Peter/Greater Mankato, a local chapter of a newly formed national movement that developed to fight against the increasing attacks on already marginalized groups (immigrants, refugees, gender and sexual minorities, people of color, etc.), American civil liberties, and the norms and institutions of our democracy. Indivisible St. Peter/Greater Mankato is a nonpartisan group dedicated to making people’s lives better and creating a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive world through positive progressive action. The group seeks to educate, engage, and empower its members to act. It provides information and opportunities to get directly involved in the democratic process by attending rallies and demonstrations, communicating with their representatives on specific issues, and engaging in voter education and turnout at the local and national level.
