Professor Yanghee Lee has been a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child since 2003 and has served as its Chair since May of 2007. She has been reelected as Chair of the Committee in May of 2009. A national of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Lee holds memberships in numerous societies and associations including the Korean Society for Special Education, the Korean Psychological Association, Korean Counseling Psychology Association, and has served as vice-president of the Korean Association of Child Studies. She is a founding member of the Korean Association for Persons with Autism, the Korean Council for Children’s Rights, and the Korean Society for the Rights of Children with Disabilities. She serves on the Executive Board of the following: Korean Association for Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Korean Council for Children’s Rights, the UNICEF National Committee of Korea, and Save the Children Korea, Advisory Committee of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, and Advisory Committee for Human Rights Education of the Ministry of Justice.

Dr. Lee received her B.S. in French from Georgetown University and her M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees in Early Childhood Special Education for the Handicapped from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has been a faculty member of the Department of Child Psychology and Education with Sungkyunkwan University since 1991. She has held various academic posts including Chair of the Department of Child Psychology and Education, Dean of Continuing Education, and Dean of Human Life Sciences.  Currently she holds joint appointment in the School of Law.

She has published numerous articles and books on identification, treatment, and prevention of developmental disabilities; child abuse and neglect; early intervention; development and validation of diagnostic tools and therapeutic intervention programs; and counseling young children. In addition, Dr. Lee has developed educational and play materials for the education of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. She has delivered several key note speeches at numerous International Conferences and World Congresses, including the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Rio; World Congress for ISPCAN held in Hong Kong; Third Regional Congress for ISPCAN in Saudi Arabia; Africa Child Policy Forum held in Addis Ababa; and Council of Europe International Launch for Campaign against Corporal Punishment. She is the guest editor for the 2009 Child Abuse and Neglect: International Journal Special CRC Anniversary Issue.

Dr. Lee has been the recipient of many recognitions and awards including the 2007 Year of the Woman Award (Korea) and the 2008 Sungkyun Family Award.