Our Team

her son’s diagnosis, she has spent her life fighting for individuals with disabilities and their families. She earned her Ph.D. in special education from the Teachers College at Columbia University, and a MA in Business Education from NYU. She is the former President of KABHA and a faculty member of the Teachers College. Dr. Bae initiated the first parent education programs for Korean-American families with a NYS DDPC grant.

with a developmental delay, she participated in CIDA’s parent gatherings and became an active parent leader.  In Korea, she majored in print media and she completed her art history major at Queen’s College in New York.  Haewa has been trained to participate in IEP meetings and learned about special education through CIDA’s Volunteer Advocacy Project (VAP) 2019.  In Fall 2020, she will be starting her Master’s program in social services at Fordham University.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at City College. He lives in Queens with his husband and has a background in education and social services. James is passionate about serving his community and engaging with students. He is currently writing a novel and is actively engaged with the artistic community in NYC. In his free time, James enjoys watching movies, going to restaurants, and exercising.

/impact as well as personal & professional development. He is from the twin island federation of St.Kitts & Nevis. Hisken takes pride in providing a high-quality level of education, professionalism, and care. He brings several years of experience in management consultation, team building, professional development, strategic implementation, and company collaboration. He believes that through collaboration, success is achieved. Hisken holds a degree in Sociology, with concentrations in Urban Studies and Education from Lehman College CUNY, and he currently resides in Long Island.

involved with many of CIDA’s projects over the last few years, and is always looking forward to nudging the community in the right direction. She plans to gain experience and knowledge in the human resources department so that she can become experienced in handling all matters of labor and employment in the workplace. She enjoys reading, video games, and anything related to Broadway.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devin-bae-79bb86165/

and  concentration in Marketing. Sajid is excited to use his academic education in a real-world setting and he aspires to make a positive impact in our communities.

in New York City Public Schools in Queens. She speaks mandarin fluently and has a Master’s degree in Economics from Renmin University in China.
She also has a continuing education credential from Biola University and has received a Certificate in Integrative Counseling in 2018. Her tasks include: reaching out to Chinese parents and schools in Queens, coordinating parent training events, translating and interpreting, training and one-on-one assistant sessions.

community outreach and developing after-school program resources for the Korean American Alliance for Families with Disabilities (KAAFaD), including the free Taekwondo lesson project for children with disabilities. Formerly, she worked in the advertising department in the New York Korea Times and Family Day Care for a number of years. Mrs. MJ Kim is in charge of family engagement in Queens, NY.