THE TEAM
Charles Wee is the founder, Principal Designer and Inventor of LifeArk. He is the President of GDS Architects, an international architectural firm specializing in the U.S., Korea, and China. Charles worked for DMJM, a part of AECOM, before co-founding AJLA. After 35+ years in the field, Charles left the commercial architecture world and devoted the rest of his career to developing LifeArk as a social impact venture. Charles spent the last 7 years bringing LifeArk to market with all building, construction, and material certifications and approvals.
Paul Cho joined LifeArk as the Chief Financial Officer after serving as the COO/CFO and Co-Founder of The Illumination Foundation for 13 years. Paul established Illumination Housing LLC, a social impact investment fund for the purpose of acquiring and developing properties to provide housing for the homeless. Prior to his nonprofit work, he was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch for 16 years executing corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity transactions in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul.
Rebecca Wee oversees programs and community implementation strategies at LifeArk with her background in humanitarian organizations. Rebecca has a Bachelor of Arts in Fine and Studio Arts from University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California. She is committed to empowering women and children to reach their full potential and access more equitable pathways towards stability.
Drew Garcia has a MBA from Stanford University and 20+ years of product management experience working in Silicon Valley for small startups and large high-tech companies including SugarSync, TimeBridge and Yahoo. He is passionate about the global impact of LifeArk.
Michael Kim has been advising LifeArk since its inception. He has over 25 years of experience in the financial services and investment sectors, including investing in both private and public companies at various stages of their development. He currently manages assets on behalf of a single-family investment firm.
Michael Collins is the co-founder of GDS Architects, a LEED Green Associate and member of CTBUH and Urban Land Institute. With 22+ years of architecture and master planning experiences, he is the project director of LifeArk, overseeing the design and engineering processes .
LifeArk / GDS Korea
Jang Jae Young is the Principal Director of GDS Korea and has 27+ years of architecture and engineering experience. Young graduated from Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea with an M.S. from Kookmin University and directs all technical architecture and engineering production for LifeArk.
Sohn Yongwon is a Senior Manager of GDS Korea with 20+ years of architecture and engineering experience. Yongwon graduated from Hongik University in Seoul and specializes in project managing, architectural and engineering drawings and directs technical and engineering consultants.
Kang Minwook is a Senior Manager of GDS Korea with 20+ years of architecture and engineering experience. Minwook graduated from Korea University in Seoul and specializes in graphics, architectural and engineering drawings and directs technical and engineering consultants.
Jang Sungjin is a Manager for GDS Korea with 6+ years of architecture and engineering experience. Sungjin graduated from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea and specializes in architectural drawings and 3D graphics.
Advisory Board
Sheldon Stone is a founding member of Oaktree Capital Management LP, an institutional money manager specializing in alternative investment strategies and based in Los Angeles. He serves on the boards of trustees of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, National Constitution Center and the Board of Overseers at Columbia University. He served as a trustee at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Bowdoin College & graduated from Bowdoin with an AB in Gov’t and Columbia Business School with an MBA in Finance & Accounting.
Sarah Yun is Vice President at Whittier Trust Company where she leads the Young Adults Forward Fund (YA Forward). YA Forward is a donor family fund that seeks to provide housing, economic prosperity and wellbeing for young adults impacted by the foster care and justice systems.
Prior to joining Whittier Trust, Sarah was a Senior Program Officer at California Community Foundation and a Grants Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Sarah began her career working on global human rights campaigns with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and as a Protection Officer for North Korean refugees in Southeast Asia. Sarah is the Co-Founder and Board Member of Lumen, a nonprofit focused on information access in North Korea and holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mike Haynes was a partner in the Comoglio & Haynes CPA firm. In 1989, Mike was recruited to GT Bicycles, a former client, to serve as CFO. At GT, he was instrumental in increasing annual sales from $47 million to $245 million. In 1995, Mike teamed with the President of GT to take the company public. The following year, Mike was promoted to CEO of GT, where he successfully led the company until 1999 when GT was sold to the investment firm Questor, owner of Schwinn. In March of 2001, Mike joined the executive team of Specialized as the CFO. This was during a time of financial crisis for Specialized, and over the next three years Mike proved to be a key member in the company’s turn-around. In 2007, Mike was moved to the role of COO. He reduced his day-to-day role in 2013 but continues in an advisory capacity. Currently volunteers on four non-profit boards in various capacities including the Illumination Foundation, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley, the Outride Foundationand Haynes Fund.
The Balay Ko Foundation supports non-profits in the State of California that work toward solving housing and food insecurity for those experiencing Homelessness and/or Hunger
Henry
Hong
Henry Hong serves as the CEO of HK Ventures, a diversified real estate company with a focus on developing and investing in commercial real estate across the Southern California infill markets. Prior to founding HK Ventures, Henry was a top-producing partner in one of the largest privately held commercial real estate brokerage firms in the US.