Yoona Lee was born and raised in Korea and has lived, traveled, studied, and worked in many parts of Asia. She is fluent in Korean and Japanese, and is learning Chinese. That makes her just the right fit for her new role: the BU Alumni Association’s assistant director for international alumni networks and the University’s first dedicated Asian alumni relations liaison.

“With my deep roots in Asian cultures and my own great experience at BU,” says Lee, (GSM’14)“I think I share many interests with our alumni in Asia and a common feeling about the University.”

Lee, who has more than six years of experience in communications and marketing in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, says she is not at all daunted by the size of this enormous alumni group (Asia holds the five countries with the highest numbers of international BU alumni). Her earlier professional positions gave her plenty of practice in strategically connecting stakeholders to the organizations for which she worked.

Her most recent job was with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, strengthening volunteer engagement through educational programs.

As she neared the end of her MBA studies at BU, Lee looked for opportunities in higher education, especially in alumni relations and development. She was fascinated by the growing efforts of universities to engage international alumni and was sure that such work would be a great fit for her. She loved BU and knew that it had a large international student community. After seeing a copy of Envoy, BU’s international newsletter, she reached out to Kati Reusche, the University’s associate director for international alumni networks, to chat about the importance of engaging alumni overseas. She joined the Alumni Relations team in January 2015.

“I think alumni who live far away, always including those in Asia, have many fond memories of BU, and most developed many friendships and connections here,” Lee says. “You can see this in their activities at home—the events and gatherings they plan for their fellow Terriers. I hope to capitalize on this good will and further strengthen their ties to the University by supporting alumni volunteers with best practices, strategic event development, marketing, and communication. On top of all this, I am channeling happiness and love to them!”

Yoona will eventually meet with BU alumni throughout Asia. “There are strong BU alumni networks all over Asia, all quite robust,” she says. “They host a number of events on a regular basis. It is truly amazing to see how alumni volunteers are committing their time and energy to put together events. They really do want to remain connected to BU and to the greater BU community.”

Lee notes that BU-branded events during the year, such as the Global Toast for recent graduates (in which alumni groups welcome new members) and the Global Days of Service, stimulate and maintain BU ties among international alumni and keep them engaged with the BU community around the world.

“BU is my alma mater,” says Lee. “I love its dynamic and inclusive community and am thrilled to be back here.”

International alumni can contact Lee at lyoona@bu.edu or 617-353-1071.