Su Kim : Soros Fellowship
Su Kim (’18, Geography) was born and raised in Los Angeles to immigrant parents from South Korea. At UC Berkeley, she earned her B.A. in geography with departmental high honors and a minor in global poverty and practice. While a student, she interned with local abolitionist organizations Justice Now and Californians United for a Responsible Budget, and studied Spanish and Mexican history in Mexico through the Autonomous University of Social Movements. As a Robert and Colleen Haas Scholar (’17-18), she conducted independent research under the supervision of Professor Victoria Robinson, culminating in an honors thesis examining how California officials leveraged constitutional crisis in prisons to secure billions for jail expansion. In 2020, she joined UnCommon Law in Oakland, where she provided pro bono legal services, co-founded the California Alliance for Parole Reform, and advanced policies improving civil rights for incarcerated people. She also served as a Solís Policy Institute fellow in 2023, where she helped pass an unprecedented California law prohibiting excessive price gouging in state prison canteens. Su is now a Toni Stabile Investigative Fellow at Columbia University, where she is earning an M.S. in journalism. She aims to produce watchdog journalism that exposes systemic harm, holds power to account, and honors the stories of those impacted. She credits her time at UC Berkeley––including the support of the Haas Scholars Program, mentorship from Professor Robinson, and participation in local struggles for justice––for shaping her commitment to public service and the critical research skills she continues to use everyday.
