HyeJi Kim

HyeJi Kim (she/her) is a Senior Youth Defense Counsel at the Gault Center, where she works to strengthen youth rights by upholding the fundamental right to counsel for all youth ensnared in the delinquency system. HyeJi dreams of one day living in a world where all children are free to thrive in communities of care and is driven by the belief that our humanity is interdependent—that in the words of Desmond Tutu, “my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.” HyeJi’s work primarily focuses on probation and system transformation as she works alongside the youth defense community to transform systems of harm and punishment from the inside. To that end, HyeJi authored the Essay, Working Toward a Horizon of Interdependence: An Abolitionist Ethos for Youth Defenders, mapping the role of youth defenders in abolition.

HyeJi first worked as a fellow at the Gault Center, followed by the Legal Aid Society in New York City where she represented children and youth caught between the family regulation and delinquency systems. HyeJi returned to the Gault Center in 2022 and finds joy being in community with youth defenders to uphold and strengthen youth rights together.

HyeJi graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and summa cum laude from the George Washington University. HyeJi is a lifelong student of emergence, wholeness, and interdependence.