Dylan Davis, Program Director for CKS since 2011, will be be leaving IEAS in late February to become the Asia Foundation's new Country Representative in Korea. Dylan has been a tireless promoter of Korean studies at Berkeley and a wonderful colleague to all, and we will miss his enthusiasm and good cheer in Berkeley. His new position with the Asia Foundation will allow him to bring his talents to a larger stage, where he will help develop programs focusing on Korea's efforts to expand and deepen international development cooperation and knowledge-sharing within the Asia-Pacific region. We wish Dylan and his family all the best as he begins this exciting new phase in his career.
The search for Dylan's successor at CKS is underway, and should be completed soon.
Here is the official announcement from Suzanne E. Siskel, Executive VicePresident/Chief Operating Officer, of the Asia Foundation about Dylan's appointment:
I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dylan Davis as The Asia Foundation's new Country Representative in Korea.
Dylan comes to the position with extensive professional and academic experience focused on Korea and its development, and has worked in-country with government and academic institutions. Most recently, Dylan served for more than three years as Program Director for the Center for Korean Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His work at the Center focused on strengthening research and programs on Korea at UC Berkeley, expanding its Korean Studies teaching curriculum and visiting scholar program, and promoting knowledge about Korea on campus and in the region. He was also responsible for identifying grant opportunities, developing proposals, and establishing a long-term fiscal and fundraising strategy. His research interests focus on how foreign governments and private entities engage with the Korean media and public.
Previously, Dylan served in the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. In this role, he supported the embassy's engagement with prominent Korean and American media organizations as well as participated in a number of official visits by high-level delegations, including those that attended the G20 Seoul Summit in 2011. Dylan's professional experience in Seoul also extends to the Yonsei University Health System (Severance Hospital) where he worked as an International Affairs Officer, and to the Korean-American Educational Commission, where he had served previously as a Fulbright Grantee. In total, Dylan has over eight years of experience living and working in Korea in a variety of capacities for both American and Korean institutions.
For his work, Dylan has been honored with numerous awards from high-level institutions such as the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2013, he was selected by the Mansfield Foundation as one of ten Korea specialists to join the first cohort of Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation Korea Nexus Scholars.
Dylan holds a BS double major in Psychology and Music from Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and has completed coursework towards a Masters in Public Health from Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health in Seoul. Dylan is proficient in spoken and written Korean.
Dylan will begin his tenure as Country Representative in Korea on March 2, 2015.