San Fernando Valley Business Journal:
8/15/05
Most college students consider themselves lucky to handle part-time jobs while struggling through term papers and final exams, but Tina Choi had more on her mind than that.
Choi, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea with her parents when she was six years old, had always been conscious of the sometimes difficult relations in Los Angeles. The 1992 riots set off incredible tension throughout the city which captivated the country, and Choi flew back from UC Berkeley in order to help put together a race relations panel for the Oprah Winfrey Show in order to strengthen communications between the African American and Korean American communities.
Once she was finished with school, Choi retuned home to Los Angeles for good, continuing to work for civic improvements in the mayor’s office. As an advocate for the city, Choi worked to attract the attention of commercial and trade delegation groups visiting from across the world. She finished her time in the mayor’s office as an economic development deputy, working on the Harbor Gateway project and helping to convert some former military property into commercial and industrial businesses.
After her time in the public sector, she worked for Playa Vista and recently she started her own business. Her clients are developers that have designs for Los Angeles but need help navigating through the city’s approval process.
"I’ve been doing community mediating for a long time, so development strategy just seemed like a natural segue for me," Choi said. "I’ve done public service and I served in an executive capacity for Playa Vista…but I never had the opportunity to try running my own business."
Many of Choi’s clients are working on build-to-suit condominium projects – she’s also worked with architect and designer Philippe Starck, hotel development companies, and several South Korean businesses interested in investing in the United States. She also saves some time to continue working in the public sector, serving as a commissioner on the South Valley Planning Commission at the urging of Councilwoman Wendy Greuel and Controller Laura Chick.
"It was very important for them to have not only minority representation but gender representation, which was sorely lacking," Choi said.
