Younsung Kim

Younsung Kim is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University.

Her research lies in collaborative governance and self-regulatory policy tools designed to address today’s complex environmental and sustainability challenges. Focusing on the private sector’s role in environmental governance, she has investigated topics such as whether Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) are effective, why some companies are more receptive to regulatory environmental policy, and which type of firms would be most likely to form cross-sector partnerships for sustainability solutions.

In 2016, Kim's research article “Business as a Collaborative Partner: Understanding Firms’ Sociopolitical Support for Policy Formation” received the Best Article Award from the Public and Nonprofit Management Division of the Academy of Management. Her works have been published in Public Administration Review, Handbook of Public-Private Partnerships in Developing and Emerging Economies, and London School of Economics Business Review and others.

She teaches Environmental Policy and Corporate Environmental Management and Policy and also teaches and coordinates EVPP 337: Environmental Policymaking in Developing Countries, a Mason Core writing-intensive course.

Kim is a recipient of a 2017 Curriculum Impact Grant Award, a 2018 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award, and a 2018 Mason Career Connection Award. Prior to her career in academia, she worked for the Ministry of Environment in South Korea and for the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Assist Team. She recently served as an external reviewer of the U.S. EPA’s Pathfinder Innovation Projects.

Degrees

• PhD George Mason University, Environmental Science and Public Policy