Leadership

Kim Parker, Ed.D., LCSW-S, serves as associate commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). A former child refugee turned professional social worker, Parker brings extensive experience to this leadership role. For the past six years, she has been co-founder and executive director of ACHHS, a nonprofit professional organization that supports Christian social workers and health and human services professionals throughout the United States and globally. Before leading this nonprofit, Parker engaged in direct social work practice for more than 20 years in various settings, including community mental health, a homeless shelter, foster care and adoptions, and private practice.
An American of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, Parker was sponsored by a Lutheran church to immigrate to America through a refugee resettlement program administered by the church with the federal government. She is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Parker is the author of a self-help memoir, "East Meets West: Parenting from the Best of Both Worlds," and has taught online Master of Social Work classes at Indiana Wesleyan University for the past three years.
"I am thankful that I get to serve in the greatest nation on Earth," Parker said. "From having been in a place of vulnerability and poverty to being in a position to help and lead, I do not take this new role lightly. I will keep humanity, including my life experiences, at the forefront of the work I do and the policies we develop."