40 Under 40: Haejin Woo, Academy Program Director, Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada

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Haejin Woo

Born in South Korea and raised in Southern California, Haejin Woo had a dream to design schools, leading her to study architecture at UCLA.

“After working as an architectural designer at a real estate development firm for a $130 million project, I decided I wanted to work with youth in the underserved community,” Woo said. She moved to Southern Nevada in 2014 to join Teach For America to fight for equity in education, and started a teaching career with the Clark County School District as a special education teacher.

She joined Communities In Schools of Southern Nevada — which works to keep kids in school — as academy program director in August 2017.

“I now work with seven high schools in CCSD and support 10 academy classes within those schools,” Woo said, adding that academy classes identify students at risk of not graduating. Those students are connected with trained site coordinators to help them tackle any obstacles, inclusive of tutoring, mental health services, credit retrieval and mentoring. “There are about 230 students enrolled in the program working on four major pillars: academic growth, career and college exploration, life skills and service learning. I want the students to be able to recognize their unlimited potential and discover their passion before they leave high school, which can be a compass to guide their future.”

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