History

The late Henry Jee, a local pastor, founded the Asian American Resource Center and oversaw its incorporation as a tax-exempt 501(c) (3) organization in 1997. His concern and compassion for Asians immigrating to the Atlanta area inspired him to commit his life savings to the organization prior to his death in 2002. His wife, Connie Jee, now leads the Center as its Executive Director. The organization continues to expand its services to meet the increasing demand posed by explosive growth of immigrant populations in the Atlanta metro area.

Board of Directors

AARC is overseen by an 11-member Board of Directors, which is comprised of a diverse and committed group of African American, Asian and Caucasian men and women from the business and faith-based communities within greater Atlanta.

AARC is managed by Connie Jee, Executive Director. In addition to her service with the Asian American Resource Center, Ms. Jee also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Gwinnett Coalition of Health and Human Services, and has given many years of service to numerous other faith-based and women's organizations. Ms. Jee has studied at the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as Luther Rice Seminary where she received her Doctor of Ministry. She received her Master of Divinity with Christian Education from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and her B.A. in Business Administration from Georgia State University.

Population and Geographic Area Served

The Asian American Resource Center assists individuals and families who have immigrated to the United States and settled in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Appropriately, the majority of the people AARC serves have emigrated from Asian countries - 74% from Korea and 10% from China in Eastern Asia, while approximately 15% come from Vietnam in South-Eastern Asia. Another 1% has arrived from countries in South Central Asia and Western Asia, such as India, Pakistan, and Armenia. The Center also provides services as needed to people from Latin American countries.

According to 2002 adjusted census data as reported in the Georgia Department of Human Resources Community Resource Guide, there are 123,652 persons of Asian origin living in a five-county (Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett) area of metropolitan Atlanta. Gwinnett County is home to the largest percentage (7.2%) of Asian immigrants in the state, with 42,768 persons. These statistics are significant, particularly when considering that only 20%-50% of Asians are estimated to have participated in the 2000 Census.