Meet the Ummas
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Jihye Shin
THE BUSINESS UMMA, CEO
Mother of three girls and with over 12 years of startup tech experience, Jihye’s motto in life is “I’m down.” Down to have fun, down to have that real talk, down to do the hard things needed to raise strong confident children, down to support and empower her husband. But as any multitasking mom knows, it’s not easy to be down to do it all. While running a business that required much travel, raising three girls, with her parents in Korea, she understood the challenge of trying to do it all. Every Korea trip, Jihye asked, there has to be a better way to do this. Putting kids in camps in Korea, finding the right self-care treat for herself, booking and paying for things in Korea, the list is endless. Thus, Jihye kicked her startup brain into high gear and started UmmaNola. Her heart is for Korean American moms and to do what it takes to help this wonderful community. She recently relocated to Seoul so she’s busy making partnerships and connections in this new place called home.
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Jimin Lee
THE CREATIVE UMMA, CMO
Mother of three and a designer with over 16 years of experience, Jimin is still quietly trying to hold on to her nickname of her 20s, “Party Jim.” One of motherhood’s hardest things for Jimin was the sense of losing who she was before kids. Now that her kids are growing more independent, she is starting to reclaim her old title back. Making deep friendships, having a genuinely fun time, and self-care have been important for Jimin to feel like her old self. And maybe, now freshly in her 40s, she is actually owning and loving who she is more than her old party days. Jimin is passionate about many things—art and design, museums (former exhibit designer at the Smithsonian), people’s stories, snowboarding, K-pop, and Korean comfort food. Currently her new creative outlet is the UmmaNola social accounts (IG and TT!) and putting herself out there so that she can make meaningful connections with other ummas.
