Elena Kim-Mitchell

Elena Kim-Mitchell is not only a mother but a role model to many. While speaking to her, she had a sense of warmth and passion for the work she had done throughout the 38 years that she worked in national security.

Kim-Mitchell’s story brings attention to the many working moms that have spent countless nights and hours at their jobs, while also balancing the responsibilities that come with being a mother. For 25 years, she was able to have an impressive policy career as a civil service person at the State Department where most influential positions were held by foreign service officers, predominantly male. Working in this environment, Kim-Mitchell looked up to the many intelligent women in her field as role models because they were working through the same male-dominated culture of the State Department that she was, learning a lot from them.

After the birth of her son, Kim-Mitchell and her husband left the United States as her husband had been given an assignment overseas. She stayed there for two years, returning to the State Department working pharmaceutical foreign policy issues while simultaneously raising her son.

After several years, Kim-Mitchell moved to the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, where she worked with defense issues and arms sales. In a place that was run by predominantly white men, through hard work and perseverance she was able to move up the ranks where she eventually became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (Acting). Throughout her career, she also served as the Deputy Assistant Deputy Director for National Intelligence for Foreign and Military Partnerships and the Director of Private Sector Partnerships at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as well as the Associate Deputy Undersecretary for Plans, Policy, and Program Management for the Office of Intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security

Reflecting on her time in all the different areas she worked in, Kim-Mitchell describes the State Department thirty years ago as being the place where she felt the most challenges as a woman. “In the State Department during the time I was working there, it was definitely a man’s world,'' Kim-Mitchell recalled. Adding onto the adversities she had to navigate as a woman in general, “being an Asian woman was a double-edged sword.” She was proud of being the first Asian woman to be placed into several positions throughout her career.  But she was sensitive to being viewed as the “token Asian woman”, and developed a hypersensitivity to being used as a diversity wildcard..

Kim-Mitchell also recalls challenges as a working mom. Unfathomable now, but at one point in her career there was a prevailing view that if women wanted to have babies, then they should not work at all. Growing up, Kim-Mitchell had always dreamt of one day being the amazing mother that her mom was to her. But she also wanted a flourishing career, where she could walk through any door and opportunity that she was given. Kim-Mitchell went on to have an extremely successful career in a male-dominated field, as an Asian woman, while also raising her son.

As a working mom, she often was told by her staff that her work-to-life balance was extremely unequal, as she was so hardworking and regularly spent over 8 hours a day at work. On some Saturdays, she would still go to work, and often bring her young son with her too. This became a fond memory for her son throughout the early years she worked. As years went by, Kim-Mitchell says that her friends and family, specifically her husband, were extremely supportive and notable because they recognized she was doing extraordinary work.

Kim-Mitchell recalled a memory when her son was coming home from high school one day. She was caught by surprise when he exclaimed that he was the first chair in his orchestra at school, realizing she had not known how well he could play until then. She recognized that she had been missing so much that had been going on in his life because she was so passionate about making a difference in support of national security interests. With the overwhelming realization that she only had a few more years left with him at home, Kim-Mitchell once again adjusted her career to a part-time job to spend more time with her son. Reflecting on life, even as a career-oriented mom, Kim-Mitchell remarked that “Anything you do for your family will never really hurt you in your career. You never lose out on doing something regarding your family.”

Kim-Mitchell believes that in the present day, the expectations for women are actually higher than they were in the past. “Expectations are high now because opportunities aren't as limited as they used to be for women. Anybody is thought to have all the opportunities they can muster to do whatever it is that they want'' Kim-Mitchell said. She looks forward to seeing more women rise above and beyond in opportunities of high leadership, like more female CEOS, politicians, etc. She hopes for future generations of women that “they can do whatever it is they want. That there isn’t a societal or professional barrier that makes it hard for them to do what they are passionate about. That freedom to do what you want is really important, to include finding that balance between their professional work and their home life.”