Samantha Joo
CEO and Founder
Samantha Joo is the founder and CEO of Platform, a nonprofit 501 (c)3 organization that is focused on mentoring youth and women for social activism. She is also the founder of Queer Koreans Alliance which is now called DdingDong, the most respected LGBTQIA+ youth crisis support center in Seoul, Korea. Currently, she is the academic advising center coordinator and adjunct faculty at Iliff School of Theology. When she is not developing programs at her nonprofit or advising students, she is exploring the outdoors with her two rambunctious dogs, Kimchi and Benji.
Dafne Ruiz
Youth Program Organizer
Dafne Ruiz is currently working as a Child Care Specialist at the Mile High United Way’s 2-1-1 call center under their partnership with Colorado Shines. As a first generation Latina college student, she graduated from Community College of Aurora with her Associates of Arts-History in 2021. She is now pursuing a Bachelors in History for secondary Social Studies at CU-Denver in hopes of becoming a high school history teacher. She loves spending time with her family and friends, going out and trying new food places, and cuddling with her little Chihuahua named BonBon!