1. Faculty & Research
  2. Faculty Directory
  3. Sue Jin Kim

Sue Jin Kim

  • Senior Lecturer

Education

Doctor of Education in K-12 Leadership [Ed.D.], University of Southern California

Master of Arts in Teaching [M.A.T.], University of Southern California

Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology [B.A.], University of California, Los Angeles
 

Expertise

  • K-12 Leadership, Teacher Education, Restorative Justice, MTSS, PBIS

Contact Information

Bio

Sue Jin Kim is a Senior Lecturer at the USC Rossier School of Education with more than two decades of experience in K–12 education, including teaching, school and district administration, school board service, educational consulting, and curriculum development. Her work focuses on nontraditional pedagogy, behavioral support systems, teacher education, and civil discourse.

 

Previously, she served as Program Director for ASES Prep, an award-winning Los Angeles County intervention program supporting at-risk youth through social justice education and civic action. She also served as Dean at Alta Public Schools, where she led the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and a schoolwide restorative justice initiative, and as a consultant for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, where she trained and mentored emerging leaders in expanded learning programs.

 

Her work includes Bias Bites (2025), a series of secondary-level mini-lessons grounded in research on heuristics and cognitive biases that support the development of students’ critical thinking and metacognitive awareness. She is also the author of the children’s book Where Did Appa Go (2022) and the short story “Risky Behavior,” published in Kimchi for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts (2014).

 

Sue Jin earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UCLA and a Master of Arts in Teaching and Doctor of Education from the University of Southern California.

Awards and Grants

  • Sphere Alumni Fellowship 2024, Sphere Education Initiatives, Cato Institute, Washington D.C.
  • Faculty of the Year for Master’s in Teaching Program 2023, Rossier Student Organization Council, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
  • Faculty of the Year for Master’s in Teaching Program 2022, Rossier Student Organization Council, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
  • Congressional Recognition Awarded for Community Leadership 2014, Congress of the United States House of Representatives, Norwalk, CA
  • Arturo Sanchez Leadership Award for Leadership in Education 2014, League of Latin American Citizens, Norwalk, CA
  • Certificate of Recognition Awarded for Community Leadership  2014, California Legislature Assembly, Norwalk, CA
  • Golden Bell Award Awarded for Closing the Achievement Gap in K-12 Education  2012, California School Boards Association, San Francisco, CA