Grace Kim has nearly nine years of experience in hospitality management, including multi-unit leadership roles within a large regional franchise group overseeing 15 Smoothie King locations across the Houston area. In her most recent role as Operations Manager, she led multiple new store openings, managed hiring, scheduling, and payroll, and trained general and regional managers. She worked with over 200 employees and was responsible for implementing menu pricing decisions and conducting audits to maintain consistency in operations, food safety, and guest service. Her work involved close collaboration with franchisees, vendors, consultants, and IT teams across locations, including Atascocita, Greenspoint, Pasadena, Baytown, and Texas City.

Grace played a key role in improving store performance, including the turnaround of several underperforming locations that went on to surpass $800,000 in same-store sales. She also supported store transitions during ownership changes and took on full operational responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic at several sites, including Greenspoint, Atascocita, and Baytown. These experiences shaped her interest in organizational culture and the impact of leadership on employee outcomes.

Now pursuing a Ph.D. in Hospitality Administration at the University of Houston, Grace researches supervisor support, workplace mistreatment, sexual harassment, and inclusive leadership in hospitality settings. Her academic work is informed by her direct experience managing teams and observing the challenges frontline employees face in achieving fairness, safety, and support at work. In addition to research, she currently teaches Human Resources Management. She has presented her work at the Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism (2024, 2025) and the Global ESG Conference (2024), including projects focused on supervisor support and sexual harassment.