Dr. Grace Chung Lee

serves as Secretary General of World Culture Open, an international non-profit whose mission is to foster peace among peoples by using the creative arts to demonstrate that everyone of every culture shares a common humanity. It is Dr. Lee’s belief that the arts reflect universal human qualities and truths, and that exposing people to the artistic expressions of other cultures will enable them to recognize the universal bonds that exist between all of us, and thus reduce conflict between cultures that will no longer consider one another to be alien or threatening.

Dr. Lee, born in South Korea, was ordained in 1981 in the Won Buddhist tradition, and is Founding Head Minister of the Won Buddhist International Temple in New York City. Dr. Lee also serves as the representative of Won Buddhism International to the United Nations and co-President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. Dr. Lee has been worked for inter-religious and intercultural dialogue for almost 20 years. At the United Nations, she has served as Chairperson of Universal Ethics Millennium Conference and President of Religious NGOs and Founding co-Chair of the Value Caucus. Dr. Lee has written various publications and edited “Vision for a New Civilization: Spiritual and Ethical Values in the New Millennium.” She has delivered keynote addresses on universal ethics, religious and cultural pluralism, women’s issues and human rights and taught on Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, Dialogue between Religion and Science, Religion in Our Time, and Wisdom and Healing in many universities. Dr. Lee is a peace activist, spiritual teacher and scholar who earned her M.A and Ph. D. from New York University.