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Professor Jin-Sun Yoon has been a faculty member in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria since 2002. As a parent of two mixed-race children raised on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees), Xwsepsum (Esquimalt), and W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) peoples – also known as Victoria, BC – and as the child of Korean parents who survived Japanese colonization and the Korean War, Jin-Sun brings a deeply personal and political lens to her lifelong commitment to antiracism, decolonizing praxis, and social justice advocacy.

Her teaching is rooted in practical pedagogy and community-engaged learning, inspiring students and front-line practitioners to deepen their decolonizing impact. Many students in the School of Child and Youth Care engage in learning-in-place, joining online from across Turtle Island and beyond. This distributed learning model fosters a national and global exchange of ideas and practices, amplifying the reach and influence of decolonial ethics in diverse communities.

Jin-Sun’s educational and professional journey is transdisciplinary and unorthodox. She has worked across and with a wide range of sectors and populations, including early childhood development, youth mental health, human rights, unhoused youth, single-parent families, immigrant and refugee settlement, international student services, neurodivergent youth, elder and foster home care supervision, health authority JEDI initiatives, public and tribal school professional development, trauma and violence informed practices, and advocacy for racialized, queer, and Indigenous communities. This breadth of experience across the lifespan informs the intersectional, cross-sectoral, and community-based approach to her teaching practice.

In both online and on-campus classrooms, Jin-Sun fosters critical reflection by encouraging students to interrogate their social positionality and engage with decolonial ethics as foundational to Child and Youth Care practice. Beyond the classroom, she has held leadership roles in feminist grassroots organizations, including the award-winning antidote: Multiracial and Indigenous Girls and Women’s Network. At the University of Victoria, she co-chaired the Minority and Indigenous Women’s Instructor Network and served as Chair of the Academic Women’s Caucus. Jin-Sun’s unwavering commitment to equity-deserving communities is reflected in her extensive service on numerous university committees dedicated to justice, equity, diversity, decolonization, and inclusion.

Jin-Sun’s past community involvement includes serving on numerous university, government, and community committees, such as the Vancouver Island Regional Advisory Council, the Ethno-Cultural Advisory Council for the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development, and the board of the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. Jin-Sun is frequently sought after as a consultant across health and education sectors, recognized for her extensive experience and the pragmatic application of her intersectional and decolonizing frameworks.

Jin-Sun has delivered keynote addresses at over a dozen national conferences, focusing on Indigenous–immigrant settler relations, decolonization and equity, and racial identity and mental health. A career highlight has been her collaboration with the leadership at ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School, where she helped create practicum opportunities for CYC students and co-developed professional development initiatives for staff.

Internationally, she has partnered with University College Copenhagen on inter-professional education projects. Born in South Korea and raised on the overlapping territories of scəw̓aθən (Tsawwassen), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and other Coast Salish Peoples, Jin-Sun completed her graduate studies in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Her research focused on ethnic identity development as a racialized minority in Canada, a theme that led her to Critical Race Theory, which now informs her teaching, applied research, and praxis.

Jin-Sun’s contributions to teaching and community leadership have been recognized with several awards:

• Teaching Excellence Award, Faculty of Human and Social Development, awarded to a faculty member within each Faculty unit across the University of Victoria (2011)
• Harry Hickman Award for Teaching Excellence and Educational Leadership, awarded to one faculty member annually across all Faculties at UVic (2014)
• 3M National Teaching Fellowship a prestigious lifetime membership awarded to ten top educators per year across Canadian universities for academic innovation and leadership by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2015)

Jin-Sun’s most cherished professional accomplishment is the enduring connection with former students, especially those who continue to challenge and dismantle oppressive systems in their communities long after graduation. Her faith in the next generation of practitioners is continually renewed with each cohort she has the privilege to teach – each one inspiring renewed hope for climate justice, social equity, and a decolonized future for children, youth, families, and communities across Turtle Island and beyond.