InUnity Alliance Names Jihoon Kim as CEO
FEBRUARY 5, 2024 – InUnity Alliance (IUA), the leading voice of people and organizations concerned about mental health and addiction issues, today announced that Jihoon Kim will be their Chief Executive Officer.
Jihoon Kim, LMSW, most recently served as Deputy Secretary for Human Services and Mental Hygiene to New York Governor Kathy Hochul. In this role, Mr. Kim managed thirteen state agencies and offices with a combined annual budget of more than $30 billion and served as Co-Chair of New York’s Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. He developed New York’s historic multi-year investment into the continuum of mental health care, prioritized efforts to combat the opioid overdose epidemic, expanded access to affordable child care, began strategic efforts to reduce child poverty by 50 percent over ten years, and created the state’s first Office of the Chief Disability Officer. He has more than fifteen years of government affairs, policy, and executive leadership experience, including with the New York State Senate, the New York Attorney General’s Office, and the state Office of Mental Health.
“I am so pleased to welcome Jihoon Kim to this critical leadership role,” said Debra Pantin, Chair of the IUA Board of Directors. “As InUnity Alliance’s inaugural CEO, Mr. Kim will lead our efforts to transform mental health and addiction services and strengthen New York’s response to an addiction and mental health crisis that permeates communities across the State. InUnity Alliance is confident that Mr. Kim will provide the strong leadership necessary to amplify our policy and advocacy work, ensure excellence in our technical assistance and training for community-based organizations, and champion the work needed to strengthen the substance use and mental health workforce. Jihoon Kim will move IUA in a positive direction that makes a substantial positive impact on people and communities across New York State.”
“I am humbled to serve as InUnity Alliance’s inaugural CEO at this critical moment when opioid overdose rates and unmet mental health needs continue to rise,” said Jihoon Kim, CEO of InUnity Alliance. “I am excited to bring my experience and deep understanding of government, policy, and advocacy to strategically advance the goals and influence of InUnity Alliance’s member organizations in the years to come. While New York has made progress in recent years by making historic investments in mental health, prioritizing the distribution of opioid settlement funds, and working towards better integrated care, we have more work to do. Under my leadership, InUnity Alliance will advocate to ensure that every New Yorker who needs timely care for a substance use and/or mental health disorder can access and afford it. I am enormously grateful to Amy Dorin and John Coppola for their dedication and many years of service to those on the front lines of providing lifesaving services to New Yorkers in need, and I look forward to working closely with them in the months ahead.”
InUnity Alliance expresses gratitude to the Meyers Group, headed by Stuart Meyers for conducting the search and bringing IUA such a strong, experienced leader to serve as IUA’s first CEO.
About InUnity Alliance
InUnity Alliance (IUA), a 501(c)-3, created by the merger of The Coalition for Behavioral Health (The Coalition) and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of New York State (ASAP), works to amplify the voices of people and organizations concerned about mental health and addiction issues in New York State. IUA represents 250 agencies that are big and small; rural, urban, and suburban; and provide addiction, mental health, health and social services to people of all ages. Through a lens of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, IUA is committed to solving issues such as the workforce crisis, inadequate funding and reimbursement rates, gaps in services and the needs of underserved communities.
