Jee Park, Senior Vice President, Magrino (New York, USA)

Years in the Industry:

I've been working in the media industry as a professional for over two decades, however I started exploring broadcast news as a career when I was in high school. I interned at my local ABC morning show in El Paso, Texas and they ended up hiring me when I was in my senior year of high school. I was an inexpensive hourly employee who WANTED to go to work at 2.30 in the morning before my first class.  It was a thrill for me to be part of a team and curating what made the local morning news. I learned a lot about being a team member and the importance of hard work.

 I moved to New York City after attending Boston University and was hired for the Morning Show at CBS. I spent over a decade at the network covering everything from 9/11 to producing Bobby Flay, before shifting gears into PR and experiential event production.

 Prior to joining Magrino, I worked for Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group which was exciting and certainly filled with delicious food. It truly taught me about always pursuing excellence as that is what Danny and the entire team pursued. 

My Top Three Challenges to Wellness: 

1.     I traditionally have put my wellness at the bottom of the to do list, which is silly for being a cancer survivor. I think though many working parents can understand that the struggle is to put yourself first when there are so many other obligations, which at the moment, feel more important.

2.     I have never been a good solo workout person and have always needed a class to keep me motivated. The pandemic obviously made that not possible, but in the past six months I have started working out more frequently at home using a workout app. It's been actually fun and I do notice that I'm happier once I work out.

3.     I seem to run out of time — which is probably tied to my first challenge! 

How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:

I have discovered that working out is key for me to feel sane. I have also rediscovered the importance of sleep. Being in morning television to then having newborns - there were many years where I literally slept only four hours a night, and I thought that was great. However, I realize now that I am a much better human when I sleep more, and studies show that your brain really needs it to reset. If you want to promote long term brain health, it seems that sleep is key. 

 For fun, I love watching K-dramas. It's fun to watch and listen to a show in my native tongue and it does allow a bit of escapism.

What Inspires Me: 

My community. That community is varied because none of us are JUST one thing in our lives...we are siblings, parents, colleagues, etc. So for me I have a number of communities I consider part of my world. I discovered a new community of mom friends during this pandemic in my neighborhood. This group of women have been incredibly warm, generous, and inspiring as we all struggled to keep our children safe, healthy (both physically and mentally) while juggling our careers during this pandemic. These were women I knew from occasional birthday parties, etc. However this pandemic really forced me out of my comfort zone and to make sure my kid could have some social life outside even if it was 10-degrees Fahrenheit - I needed to put myself out there. I got lucky. These women are strong, funny, and just awesome. 

 I have also been inspired by my colleagues and clients as we all dug deep to get creative and find solutions during this unprecedented time.  

 Finally, my children. They adapted to this past year of challenges and somehow managed to smile and laugh. For my husband and me, their happiness and safety are the two very important things for us. This year they probably adapted in some ways better than we did!

A Quote I Love:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

 You can connect with Jee on Instagram on @JWPactor