ZiYoung Kang

ZiYoung Kang, Ph.D., NCC, is an Assistant Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Duquesne University. She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education from Pennsylvania State University in 2014. She subsequently pursued additional degrees in Won-Buddhist Studies and was ordained a Kyomu (a Won-Buddhist minister) at the end of 2020.

In addition to her work as a mental health counselor, she has over 10 years of experience in developing and implementing mindfulness-based educational mentoring programs for K-12 and college students. Her role involved not only counseling student mentees and supervising mentors but also teaching and coordinating the partnership among schoolteachers, parents, and college student mentors to maximize the student support and program effectiveness.

As a mindfulness meditation practitioner for over 15 years, she has also taught mindfulness and meditation to children and adults from various religious backgrounds in workshops and other settings.

Her research interests focus on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in addressing mental health issues, resolving interpersonal conflicts especially related to multicultural issues, and fostering the academic, career, and social/emotional development of diverse student populations.

• Ph.D., Counselor Education and Supervision, The Pennsylvania State University, 2014
• M.A., Educational Counseling, Seoul National University, 2008
• B.A., Education, Seoul National University, 2006
• B.S., Earth Science Education, Seoul National University, 2006